The US Dollar has strengthened since this morning and is now trading higher
against the Euro, up slightly. NYMEX crude oil is still quiet, a tad over
$76/barrel. Gold is down 1/3 of 1% while silver is 1/3 of 1% higher. Base
metals all ended higher, the US Dollar's sudden gain coming too late to hurt
metals trading. Indicator charts show nickel fell much of the day, with a
sudden near $400/tonne bounce coming late in the session. Dow Jones reports
three month nickel ended November at
$7.44/lb, higher on the day,
but down from October's last close of $8.28/lb. Inventories of nickel stored
in LME warehouse rose nearly 2000 tonnes over the weekend, after rising by
more than that amount on Friday. In all, nickel inventories have risen by
4,224 tonnes in the last three business days, and now sit well over the 137,000
tonne level. These numbers use to mean a lot more than they do currently,
as the market is apparently being guided by factors other than market
fundamentals these days. Sucden's day old charts shows last week's trading
(chart here). The Baltic Dry Index fell another 87 points
today, after falling 260 points on Thursday and Friday last week. It will
be a busy week for US government reports. On Tuesday, we will see ISM numbers,
as well as motor vehicle sales and construction spending numbers. On Thursday,
we will get the most recent jobless claims numbers, as well as ISM
nonmanufacturing numbers. On Friday we see nonfarm payroll numbers, with
unemployment rate and average hourly earnings reports, and factory orders
numbers. Dubai was the story to end last week, with world markets falling
in response to Dubai's state-backed conglomerate Dubai World, asking creditors
for a standstill on its debt. While the situation has not eased, the momentary
panic the news caused has apparently eased. US markets are down on lower
Black Friday sales.

(MarketWatch) The National Retail Federation's survey, conducted over the
weekend, found that 195 million shoppers visited stores and Web sites, up
from 172 million last year, but the average spent was about $343, down from
about $373 a year ago. For the weekend, the total spending figure is an estimated
$41.2 billion.

The Frugal Republic - China makes, the world takes. For decades,
that has been the motto of the Chinese economy, which is built on providing
an endless supply of goods for the rest of the world to buy. -
more

Judge hands down
restrictions on striking Vale Inco workers - Striking Vale Inco miners in
Sudbury, Ont., have new restrictions on their picket lines. -
more

Tiny magnetic
discs may kill cancer - Tiny magnetic discs just a millionth of a metre in
diameter could be used to used to kill cancer cells, according to a study.
-
more

Morning
Briefing(8:00 AM CST
is 1PM in London)

Indicators at 7:30 am CST show 3 month nickel trading around $.01/lb
higher, with all base
metals slightly higher this morning. The US Dollar is trading 1/3 of 1% lower
against the Euro at the moment. NYMEX crude futures are flat at $76/barrel.
Gold is down 1/3 of 1% and silver is off 1/10 of 1%. In overnight trading,
Asian markets ended higher, with China up nearly 4%, recovering from Friday's
Dubai scare. European markets are lower this morning with Dubai worries
lingering, with US futures showing Wall Street has yet to decide how it will
open. Inventories of nickel rose over the weekend by another huge amount,
and rose by large quantities both Thursday and Friday. The Baltic Dry Index
fell both Thursday and Friday, and has yet to publish today's numbers. Dow
Jones reports three month nickel closed Thursday at $7.52/lb and Friday at
$7.30/lb.

(Dow Jones) "Unlike all other base metals that were able to book gains, nickel
has been trending downwards for the last few weeks," Commerzbank says. Says
to date, LME nickel inventories rose to 137,280 tons, the highest level since
February 1995.

(SO) According to the data issued by the Russian Special Steel and Alloys
Consumers and Suppliers Association (Spetsstal), during the first ten months
of this year Russia's output of stainless steel products decreased by 49.4
percent to 56,500 mt, its exports of stainless steel products went down by
50.2 percent to 4,600 mt, while its imports of the products in question declined
by 47.6 percent to 70,900 mt, all compared to the same period last year.
"For the Russian stainless steel market, the current year could be certainly
called a failure," reads the company's statement.

(Yieh) The stainless steel 304 price in China market has increased to more
than RMB 20,000/ ton from RMB 18500/ton earlier a week. Its said the
price increased mainly resulted from production cut in December. The major
stainless steel producer, Tisco, announced on November 16th that the company
may consider cutting production to keep current price stable.

(SBB) Asian stainless prices slide another $50/t

(SSY) The price of Chinese hot-rolled band has maintained its recent rise,
according to figures released in World Steel Dynamics SteelBenchmarker
today. The HRB price in China now stands at $453/t compared with $407/t recorded
six weeks ago. Despite the latest upward push, the HRB price is still below
the year-to-date high of $508/t.

MEPS forecasts a
2 million tonne drop in stainless steel output in 2009 - Global crude stainless
steel production in 2009 is expected to decline to 23.9 million tonnes. This
equates to a 9.2 percent reduction on the outturn in the previous twelve
months. -
more

S.Korea POSCO
to lower stainless steel prices for Dec - South Korea's POSCO will lower
prices of stainless steel to be released in December by 200,000 won per tonne,
the company said on Friday, in response to weakening home and global steel
prices. -
more

World Main Bases
Are Entering Into Structure To Reduce FeCr Production = Following South African
Producers, FeCr Producer In Turkey Is Also Moving to Reduce Their Production
- The movements to reduce production of ferro-chrome (high carbon ferro-chrome
and charge chrome) are enlarging. Both companies of Assmang and Samancor
Chrome in South Africa have entered into the structure to reduce their production
of ferro-chrome and, following these reductions in South Africa, Eti Krom
of Turkey has also moved to reduce their production of ferro-chrome. -
more

Eramet /
France Promotes Projects To Rationalize Facilities For Nickel Production
In New Caledonia = Aiming To Reduce Cost For Nickel Production By US$1.00
Per Lb. Of Ni - Eramet of France announced on the 19th of November that,
in order to strengthen a power for nickel production at SLN (Societe Le Nickel)
in New Caledonia, a subsidiary of the Eramet Group, Eramet has decided to
carry out a series of the projects for rationalization of its facilities
during the next several years. -
more

Domestic Consumption
Of Nickel Metal In Japan For Jan. - Sep. / 09 Decreased By 40% - According
to the steel statistics compiled and released on the end of last week by
the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, the quantities of nickel
metal consumed by Japan in January - September of 2009 as well as in a single
month of September were as per the table shown below. -
more

A U.S. mine debate
centers on water, jobs - Standing on the marshy ground at Eagle Rock in the
remote woods of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, it's hard to imagine that beneath
one's feet is a lump of nickel worth billions of dollars. -
more

About 3,050 hourly rated production and maintenance workers, members of United
Steelworkers Local 6500, have been on strike since July 13. Another 130 USW
Local 6200 members in Port Colborne are also on strike. About 450 members
of USW Local 9508 in Voisey's Bay have been on strike since Aug. 1.

Vale Voisey's talks hinge on Sudbury, union says - Striking workers at Vale's
Voisey's Bay nickel mine in eastern Canada will not resume bargaining with
the company unless Vale also agrees to sit down with striking workers at
its Sudbury, Ontario nickel operations, the union said on Friday. -
more

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us

Wednesday, November 25

US markets are
closed Thursday, November 26, for Thanksgiving holiday. The London Metals
Exchange is open, and will be trading. We will attempt to update this site
on Thursday and Friday, if time allows.

The US Dollar continues to trade lower against the Euro, by 8/10 of 1%. NYMEX
crude futures are up over 1-1/3%. Gold is up nearly 1-1/2%, shattering record
highs. Silver is up 1.3%. Base metals all ended the day higher on a weak
Dollar and positive economic news from the US. Indicator charts show nickel
was positive early on and took off when US reports came out better than expected.
For the day, Dow Jones reports three month nickel ended the day at
$7.73/lb., it's highest close
since the 9th. Stored inventories of nickel in LME approved warehouses slipped
overnight, but stayed slightly above the 133,000 tonne level. The Baltic
Dry Index slipped 106 points to 4,234. In US reports, durable goods orders
fell in October, while first time jobless claims fell under the 500,000 level
for the first time in over a year. US consumer spending rose in October,
disposable income rose, and the savings rate fell. New home sales rose
better than expected in October, and consumer confidence was better in October.
Tomorrow will be the Thanksgiving holiday in the US, with most business'
closed the following Friday. We will attempt to make updates when possible
over the next two days. We are very thankful for our daily readers, and hope
each of you has a safe, enjoyable, and relaxing weekend!

Indicators at 7:20 am CST show 3 month nickel trading around $.06/lb
higher with all base
metals trading in the green this morning. Based on the base metals trend
this morning, it is obvious that the Euro is trading higher against the US
Dollar, up nearly 8/10 of 1% at the moment and over the $1.50 level
again. NYMEX crude oil futures are up 3/10 of 1%, and over $76/barrel. Gold
is up over 3/10 of 1% while silver is down nearly 6/10 of 1%. In overnight
trading, Asian markets ended higher, with China up 2.3%. European markets
are higher this morning, and US futures show Wall Street should start in
a bullish mood. Inventories of nickel slipped overnight. The US market gets
a slew of reports today, before it breaks for the Thanksgiving holiday. This
morning, durable goods orders, personal income and jobless claim numbers
will be released. Later consumer sentiment and new home sales numbers will
be released.

Edward Meir of MF Global Morning Comments - "Metal prices fell modestly on
Tuesday, finally decoupling from the weaker dollar and responding more
appropriately to the macro numbers out of the US where the pace of recovery
remains very much an open question. Following Monday's strong existing home
sales number, we took a step backwards on Tuesday after revised numbers for
third-quarter GDP showed growth coming in at +2.8%, slightly worse than estimates
and well below the 3.5% rate initially reported. Consumer spending, which
accounts for two-thirds of U.S. economic activity lagged behind forecasts
as well, and a wider trade deficit also contributed to the downward revision.
One bright spot was that corporate profits remained strong, rising by 10.6%
in the July-to-September period, the biggest increase in five years. ...
The weaker GDP number seems to confirm our view put forth in recent commentary
that the US recovery, while underway, may not build up the head of steam
widely expected by the markets. This is because the severe headwinds facing
us as we move forward-- high unemployment, weak consumer spending, and a
still lethargic housing market--will likely make the recovery both sluggish
and uneven. Of course, investors have yet to focus on such a possibility,
as they seem to be bidding up prices on the back of a weaker dollar amid
a general infatuation with hard assets. ... Nickel is at $16,725, down
$25. (read Ed Meir's complete morning base metals report
here)

World
Production Of Ferro-Chrome In Jul. - Sep. / 09 Quarter Improved Considerably
= Returned To Scale Of 15% Reduction From That In Same Quarter 2008 - It
was known that the world output of ferro-chrome in July - September quarter
of 2009 recovered up to a scale of 15.2% reduction compared with that actually
produced in the same quarter of 2008. According to a preliminary report compiled
and released recently by ICDA (International Chrome Development Association),
the quantity of ferro-chrome produced in the world for July - September quarter
of 2009 was 1,849,000 tons, having decreased by 15.2% compared to that (2,181,000
tons) for the same quarter of 2008. -
more

MCC, Minara
To Launch Joint Bid For Ravensthorpe - Two major nickel miners will launch
a joint bid for BHP Billiton Ltd.'s (BHP) idled Ravensthorpe nickel mine,
a person familiar with the situation said Wednesday, signaling support for
future metal demand. -
more

Beijing leads race for Ravensthorpe nickel mine - China is one of the lead
bidders for BHP Billiton's failed Ravensthorpe nickel plant and mine in Western
Australia, with a joint offer from China Metallurgical Group (MCC) and local
nickel miner Minara Resources seen as the front-runner -
more

Nickel refinery
fears closure under ETS - One of north Queensland's largest private employers
fears the emissions trading scheme (ETS) will force it to close. -
more

Rio shares hit
by rumours Chinalco to sell stake - Shares in Rio Tinto are down amid rumours
its biggest shareholder, Chinese giant Chinalco, is selling down its stake
in the global mining giant. -
more

The MEPS global
carbon steel price drops 3 percent in November - Raw steel output continues
to climb steadily in the US. Mill utilisation rates were up to almost 65
percent in the first week of November. -
more

Sudbury Nickel Strike Coverage

About 3,050 hourly rated production and maintenance workers, members of United
Steelworkers Local 6500, have been on strike since July 13. Another 130 USW
Local 6200 members in Port Colborne are also on strike. About 450 members
of USW Local 9508 in Voisey's Bay have been on strike since Aug. 1.

Soft nickel market points to long strike - If Vale Inco and the Steelworkers
don't sit down soon and hammer out a deal, strikes that began in the summer
could last as long as a year, a market analyst warned Tuesday. -
more

Vale sues for $25M - Company says it's losing $7 million US a day in production
-
more

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The US Dollar is now trading higher against the Euro, but by less than 1/10
of 1% at the moment. NYMEX crude is off 2% and under $76/barrel. Gold is
slightly higher at the moment, while silver is off nearly 910 of 1%. Base
metals ended all lower in a quiet trading day. Indicator charts show nickel
was slowly declining until the Dollar started gaining, then it too followed,
opposite of its typical course of action. Dow Jones reports three month nickel
ended the day at $7.60/lb. Inventories of nickel
stored in LME approved warehouse jumped over the 133,000 tonne level overnight,
setting a new 21st century record high. Sucden's day old chart shows the
nickel market remains stalled as traders look for a direction
(chart here). The Baltic Dry Index is correcting itself
after a large gain, down 83 points overnight to 4,340. The US Commerce Department
corrected an earlier report, stating the GDP during the third quarter rose
only 2.8%, not the 3.5% it had earlier reported. The The S&P/Case-Shiller
home-price index of 20 U.S. cities rose for the 5th straight month. The
Conference Board consumer confidence index rose to 49.5 from last months
48.7. But the news that has made the market nervous today is this from the
BI - "China's top banking regulator has warned banks to make sure they
comply with capital adequacy ratio (CAR) requirements, or else face strict
sanctions." Chinese markets fell over 3% on the news, and world markets are
mostly lower. And how about nickel fundamentals? Well, a Dow Jones article
put it best today when it stated "Traders said the dollar and equities remain
the key drivers for base metals near term, as the metals are in general
disconnected from the current fundamentals. " Analysts like Societe Generale
analyst David Wilson agree, who stated in his daily report "I still think
they're [traders] reflecting assumptions on future fundamentals."

(Angel) Nickel prices have slumped 8% in the month of November and are hovering
around $16,700 on the LME. But in the last week, the metal managed to end
in the green with week-on-week gains of 3%. But the fundamentals remain weak
and direct towards a weak price scenario for Nickel. ... The problem is that
the widely expected increase in demand from the stainless steel sector has,
with the exception of China, simply failed to materialize. Another factor
that is bearish for Nickel is that stainless steel demand is expected to
remain weak and demand for primary nickel will be constrained further as
mills switch to using an increasing proportion of secondary material in their
feed. The stainless steel market is expected to recover gradually in 2010.
But a number of producers have said that there are no signs of pick-up in
underlying demand and investment plans are being cancelled or deferred. On
the back of these negative factors we have a bearish view on Nickel for the
short-term.

(CO) With a production capacity of 30,000 tonnes a year, SNNC Co Ltd, an
affiliate of Korean steel maker POSCO now has the largest ferronickel plants
in the world. The plant was designed and delivered by kawasaki Plant Systems,
Ltd. The plant is set up close to POSCOs Gwangyang Works. After signing
a contract with SNCC back in August 2006, K Plant finished work on the plant
approximately three months ahead of schedule. The plant went into operation
in early October 2008 and performance tests were conducted in April and late
September 2009. The tests verified that the plant met all the performance
requirements specified in the contract.

The hottest metal
you've never heard of reignites Ring of Fire - U.S. miner plans to develop
huge chromite play near James Bay after buying Freewest -
more

Morning
Briefing(8:00 AM CST
is 1PM in London)

Indicators at 7:25 am CST show 3 month nickel trading around $.09/lb
with all base metals
trading quietly lower. The US Dollar is trading 1/10 of 1% lower against
the Euro, and only recently fell lower, which could embolden metals traders.
NYMEX crude futures are down 1/4 of 1%, and just under $77.50/barrel. Gold
is 3/10 of 1% higher, while silver is flat at the moment. In overnight trading,
Asian markets ended lower, with China down over 3%. European markets are
slightly higher this morning, while US futures show Wall Street may open
slightly higher. Nickel inventories rose to record levels overnight, while
the BDI fell for a third consecutive day. US third quarter GDP has just
been revised down to 2.8% from an earlier estimated 3.5% and consumer confidence
numbers are due out later today.

Edward Meir of MF Global Morning Comments - "Metals closed higher on
Monday, (with aluminum being the notable exception), as prices pushed higher
on account of a weaker dollar and a surprising surge in US existing home
sales for October. Sales rose by 10% to a two-year high and substantially
exceeded estimates. The number sparked a sharp rally in energy markets and
US equities as well, but some of the earlier gains faded by the close, as
a slight dollar recovery off $1.50 resistance against the Euro and growing
perceptions that the housing number could have been skewed by tax credit
uncertainties pushed prices off their highs. The most dramatic turnaround
was in crude oil, which lost about $2.50 in gains over the course of the
session to close practically unchanged. Metals seem to be catching up to
where energy left off yesterday, as we see modest declines across the board.
We have been cautious on metals for some time now, and continue to maintain
this view. Not only are LME inventories rising sharply despite a demand pickup,
but Chinese import trends seem to be in a deceleration mode,
and thus may not provide as much upside momentum as they did earlier in the
year. Indeed, we have mentioned in previous write-ups that thanks to the
recent Chinese import binge, there is considerable amount of metal being
stored by a variety of entities in China. In copper's case for example, Antaike
projected last week that up to 1.6 million tons of metal is sitting in stockpile,
theoretically meaning that China would not need to import any copper for
all of 2010 were it to decide to work off these units. Similarly large stockpiles
exist in aluminum and nickel as well. ... Nickel is at $16,711, down $194,
and very quiet today, with a $300 trading range seen over the course of
todays session thus far. (read Ed Meir's complete morning base
metals report
here)

(Dow Jones) Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. PLC expects a "challenging"
market for ferrochrome next year as excess capacity across the industry makes
sustainable price increases unlikely, a senior executive said during a
presentation Monday. But longer term, rising demand from China, supply
constraints and rising costs for South African producers should support prices
for the commodity, said Jim Cochrane, ENRC's head of sales, marketing and
business development. Ferrochrome is a key ingredient in stainless steel
production.

(Yieh) Chinas Taiyuan Iron & Steel (Tisco) has announced its new
price for the forty-eighth week (November 24~ November 30). The price of
304 hot rolled and cold rolled coils and sheets increased by RMB200/ton,
and the price of 430 hot rolled and cold rolled coils and sheets was up by
RMB100/ton.

(MB) China imported around 1.5 million tonnes of nickel ore in October, nearly
50% lower than September, but still up 117% year-on-year

(Yieh) Xingtai Iron & Steel Corporation Limited, one of China's largest
high end wire rod producer, owing the country's most advanced wire rod production
line, the biggest auto cold forming and deformed parts lines and wire welding
line is said to officially start a RMB1.2 billion stainless steel project
recently.

(MB) According to the import and export statistics from Customs, the stainless
steel plate export of TISCO Stainless Steel broke 20,000 tons in October,
to 22,900 tons, up 23.12% month on month. It is the best performance made
by TISCO Stainless in export in the first ten months.

(DM) The Chicago Fed National Activity Index was -1.08 in October, down slightly
from -1.01 in September. A decline in the contribution of production and
income indicators offset small improvements in the other three broad categories
of indicators that make up the index.

(SSY) The Capesize Iron Ore Port Congestion Index for China has doubled in
the last month to 7.3 days, with 46 Capesizes waiting to discharge at the
countrys ore ports, according to local sources. Meanwhile, the SSY
Australian Coal Port Congestion Index has surged above 14 days for the first
time since May 2008.

(NABE) The National Association for Business Economics has released its November
2009 Industry Survey, in which NABE panelists have increased their expectations
for growth in 2010. "While the recovery has been jobless so far, that should
soon change," said NABE President Lynn Reaser, chief economist at Point Loma
Nazarene University. "Within the next few months, companies should be adding
instead of cutting jobs."

(MFG) The Wall Street Journal reports today one out of four US home owners
now owe more on their mortgages than their property is worth.

BHP Said to
Seek $500 Million for Ravensthorpe Nickel Mine - BHP Billiton Ltd., the
worlds largest mining company, aims to raise as much as $500 million
selling its shuttered Ravensthorpe nickel mine in Western Australia, a person
familiar with the process said. -
more

Cliffs to go into
the ferrochrome business - U.S. firm expects to be processing chromite ore
by 2015 - Cliffs Natural Resources of Cleveland is buying three chromite
deposits in northern Ontario from Freewest Resources Canada of Montreal and
will spend $4 million to start development of a ferrochrome plant along the
north shore of Lake Superior in Canada. -
more

Norilsk Nickel
says it will boost production, cut emissions - Nickel mining will over the
next two years be boosted and emissions at the same time radically cut, General
Director of the Norilsk Nickel Vladimir Strzhalkovsky said when visiting
Zapolyarny, the mining and metallurgy town located near the border to Norway.
-
more

Manila says
may cancel Intex's $2.4 bln nickel project - The Philippines may cancel a
mining permit for a $2.4-billion nickel project by Norway's Intex Resources
ASA if a probe shows local communities were not consulted about it, a top
official said on Tuesday.
- more

Downward pressure
continues on steel in the developing nations - Purchasing activity remains
subdued in the Turkish market. Downward pressure has continued to be exerted
on negotiated finished steel prices. Market participants are presently trying
to maintain manageable inventory levels. -
more

Creation
of important nickel ore deposits linked to ancient atmosphere - Using geochemical
clues from rocks nearly 3 billion years old, a group of scientists have made
the surprising discovery that the creation of economically important nickel
ore deposits was linked to sulfur in the ancient oxygen-poor atmosphere.
-
more

Courtesy AISI - In
the week ending November 21, 2009, domestic raw steel production was 1,540,000
net tons while the capability utilization rate was 64.5 percent. Production
was 1,209,000 tons in the week ending November 21, 2008, while the capability
utilization then was 50.7 percent. The current week production represents
a 27.4 percent increase from the same period in the previous year. Production
for the week ending November 21, 2009 is down 1.1 percent from the previous
week ending November 14, 2009 when production was 1,557,000 tons and the
rate of capability utilization was 65.3 percent.

Sudbury Nickel Strike Coverage

About 3,050 hourly rated production and maintenance workers, members of United
Steelworkers Local 6500, have been on strike since July 13. Another 130 USW
Local 6200 members in Port Colborne are also on strike. About 450 members
of USW Local 9508 in Voisey's Bay have been on strike since Aug. 1.

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info, or become available to subscriber's only. We encourage our readers
to use the services of those companies who supply reports and information
free of charge.Contact
us

The Euro continues to trade stronger against the US Dollar, now by nearly
8/10 of 1% and closing in on the $1.50 level again. NYMEX crude is up 9/10
of 1% and over $78/barrel. Gold is up over 1.4%, setting new record highs,
while silver is up 8/10 of 1%. Base metals ended mostly higher, only aluminum
ending lower. Indicator charts show nickel survived an early morning bounce,
with much of the rest of the day's trading, drifting slightly lower. Dow
Jones reports three month nickel ended the day at
$7.67/lb. Inventories of nickel
took a large hit over the weekend, and still remain above the 132,500 tonne
level, but just barely. Sucden's day old chart shows nickel traders looking
for a direction
(chart here). The Baltic Dry Index took a second hit in
as many days, down 84 points to 4,423. Reports from China today, show imports
of refined nickel into that country are slowing from earlier record levels,
but that the imports of nickel ore, much of which is used in the production
of the so called "pig nickel" continues to grow. Nickel producers were hoping
the lower nickel prices would keep the production of Chinese pig nickel to
a minimum, while the numbers aren't showing that to be true. The China stainless
steel index we follow in China is showing signs of potentially bottoming
out, but it's too early to state that as fact. The Euro PMI moved slightly
higher, but most of the world's market reaction today, is most likely courtesy
a dropping Dollar and record breaking gold pricing.

Chinas oil
demand slips, metals demand slides in October - China's oil demand edged
down in October but appetite for base metals slumped as the countrys
economic recovery proved more supportive of some sectors than others, customs
data showed today. -
more

Morning
Briefing(8:00 AM CST
is 1PM in London)

Indicators at 7:25 am CST show 3 month nickel trading around $.16/lb
, with most base metals
trading higher this morning. The US Dollar is trading lower against
the Euro, down over 7/10 of 1% at the moment. NYMEX crude futures are up
1.3% and near $78.50.barrel. Gold hit a new record high this morning, up
over 1%, while silver is also up over 1%. In overnight trading, Asian markets
ended higher with China up nearly 1%. European markets are higher with US
futures showing a positive opening in store for Wall Street. Nickel inventories
took a drop over the weekend, with the BDI down 84 points. For Friday, the
BDI fell 154 points, while nickel ended last weeks trading at $7.51/lb.

Edward Meir of MF Global Morning Comments - Metal prices rebounded on Friday
despite sluggish US equity markets and a stronger dollar, which closed higher
for a second day running. The resiliency in metals is really quite surprising
in that we have yet to see a decent correction set in despite legitimate
questions about end-user demand and rising inventory levels. ... Metals are
sharply higher once again today, but all in all, it is quite difficult to
make the case for being long at current levels, as apart from the "weak-dollar
prop", we cannot justify prices being where they are. Certainly, in
coppers case, the resolution of the various strikes and the easier
tone seen in the Chinese import figures argues for near-term caution. ...
Nickel is at $16,951, up $351, but still having trouble breaking decisively
through the downtrend channel that is evident in our charts. (read
Ed Meir's complete morning base metals report
here)

(PR) Mirabela Nickel Limited is pleased to announce that the commissioning
of the Santa Rita processing plant has progressed to expectations with only
minor rectification issues identified to date. All mechanical and electrical
components have run to the current installed nameplate capacity of 4.6 million
tonnes per annum.

Assmang became the second South African charge chrome producer to take capacity
offline. The company will take off its #5 furnace at Machadodorp at the end
of November--the unit produces about 45,000-50,000 mtpy--for maintenance
and depressed market conditions. The shutdown will be reviewed monthly and
there are no immediate plans to reopen the furnace. Machadodorp has been
operating its four furnaces at less that full power. With the furnace switched
off, Machadodorp will be running at about 60% of capacity.

(SM) According to the American Forest & Paper Association's October 2009
U.S. Containerboard Statistics Report released today, total containerboard
paper production fell 3.5% in October compared to October 2008. Total production
rose, increasing 100,400 tons or 3.7% when compared to September 2009.

(SM) According to the American Forest & Paper Association's October,
2009 Paperboard Report released today, total production increased from September
totals by 25,100 tons or 2.3%. Total paperboard production decreased by 6.2%
in October, 2009 compared to October, 2008.

(AAR) The Association of American Railroads today reported that freight rail
traffic was down for the holiday week ended Nov. 14, 2009. U.S. railroads
reported originating 281,218 carloads for the week, down 8.9 percent compared
with the same week in 2008 and down 17 percent from the same week in 2007.
Rail carloads showed slight improvement, up 2.3 percent from the previous
week. In order to offer a complete picture of the progress in rail traffic,
AAR will now be reporting 2009 weekly rail traffic with year over comparisons
for both 2008 and 2007. Note that each of the 2007 and 2008 comparison weeks
to Nov. 14, 2009 included the Veterans Day Holiday.

(TCB) The Conference Board Leading Economic Index(LEI) for the U.S.
increased 0.3 percent in October, following a 1.0 percent gain in September,
and a 0.4 percent rise in August.

October Base Metals
Figures - Imports of nickel ore up 116.58% MOM and up 18.97% YOY. Refined
nickel imports up 36.3% MOM and up 120.67% YOY. Refined nickel exports up
713.63% MOM and up 271.86% YOY.

French Eramet
company to reduce staff at SLN in New Caledonia - The French Eramet company
has restated its intention to reduce staff numbers at its nickel-producing
SLN subsidiary in New Caledonia. -
more

Miner hikes
estimate for Surigao property - Canadian-led Mindoro Resources, Ltd. has
increased by almost half the estimated mineral resource of its nickel and
cobalt project in northern Mindanao. -
more

How Nickel
Was First Minted - Nickel is one of today's most popular metals, and chances
are that, as we speak, you have at least a few nickel coins in your pocket.
But, in spite of its massive use in several industries, no one really knew
for sure, until just recently, how the metal came to form on our planet.
-
more

Earths mineral ores a lucky accident of ancient atmosphere - A team
of researchers recently made a surprising discovery: much of the Earths
most valuable mineral ores exist thanks to an ancient atmosphere that was
oxygen-poor but higher in sulphur. -
more

Sudbury Nickel Strike Coverage

About 3,050 hourly rated production and maintenance workers, members of United
Steelworkers Local 6500, have been on strike since July 13. Another 130 USW
Local 6200 members in Port Colborne are also on strike. About 450 members
of USW Local 9508 in Voisey's Bay have been on strike since Aug. 1.

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info, or become available to subscriber's only. We encourage our readers
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us

Friday, November 20

Morning
Briefing(8:00 AM CST
is 1PM in London)

Indicators at 7:05 am CST show 3 month nickel trading around $.11/lb
, with other base
metals trading mixed. The US Dollar is trading 7/10 of 1% higher against
the Euro, pressuring commodity traders. NYMEX crude futures are down 1-1/3%
and under $76.50/barrel. Gold is higher by 1/10 of 1% and silver is down
over 1/10 of 1%. In overnight trading, Asian markets ended lower, with China
down nearly 1/3 of 1%. European markets are lower, with US futures lower.
Inventories of LME stored nickel fell overnight, but remain well above the
132,500 tonne mark. Once again, our afternoon update will be delayed due
to traveling. Yesterday's (Thursday) close for three month nickel was
$7.70/lb, and yesterday's BDI ended
up 18 to 4,661 yesterday. We will post Friday's close later.

Edward Meir of MF Global Morning Comments - Metal prices fell on Thursday,
as did a host of other commodities in what could be best described as a modest,
but long overdue correction. Crude oil prices lost a little more than $2
a barrel, with both gold and the US stock market also down sharply. We are
off to another mostly negative start in Fridays US session after earlier
gains out of Shanghai failed to spill over into Europe. We suspect metals
will continue to struggle over the balance of the day, as the dollar again
seems to have held its ground against the Euro around the $1.50 level and
is now trading around $1.4830. ... Commodity bulls should also be somewhat
wary about the fact that the recent bath of US macroeconomic numbers have
been coming in on the weaker side. In Thursday's data for example, the Conference
Board's Index of leading indicators for October came in at +.3%, below the
.4% expected, but the rate of increase slowed dramatically from September's
1% jump. Looking somewhat better, was the Philadelphia Fed business outlook
index, which rose to 16.7 in November after posting a reading of 11.5 in
October, but this is a relatively minor regional reading and does not provide
a good reflection of national manufacturing activity, which has actually
been slowing of late. In addition, housing continues to struggle, with a
report out yesterday showing that a record one in seven U.S. mortgages were
in foreclosure or at least one payment past due in the third quarter. ....
Nickel is at $16,770, down $205. Prices failed to poke above the down-channel,
and now seem to be resuming their downtrend. A test of $16,000 support is
likely (read Ed Meir's complete morning base metals report
here)

(Yieh) Japanese Kawasaki Plant Systems, Ltd (K plant) said that it has completed
a ferronickel production for SNNC Co., Ltd, which is affiliated with South
Korean Posco. The plant close to Poscos Gwanyang Works with annual
capacity of 30,000 tons is one of the largest ferronickel plants in the world
.... With this new plant, Posco becomes the first stainless steel mill in
the world with its nickel production.

(MFG) Global crude steel production rose 13.1% year-on-year to 112.177 million
tons in October, figures from the World Steel Association showed on Friday.
China's crude steel output surged 42.4% in October from the same period a
year ago to 51.747 million tons.

(Interfax) Jinchuan Group nails down 10-year nickel supply

(MNP) Mirabela Nickel says the processing plant at its flagship Santa Rita
nickel mine in Brazil is moving from commissioning to the ramp-up and
optimization phase.

(CD) China's economy is forecast to grow 9.4 percent next year on the growth
of domestic consumption and improving exports, said a report released Friday
by the Beijing-based Renmin University of China.

Mirabela Santa
Rita production update - Mirabela Nickel Limited is pleased to announce that
the commissioning of the Santa Rita processing plant has progressed to
expectations with only minor rectification issues identified to date. All
mechanical and electrical components have run to the current installed nameplate
capacity of 4.6 million tonnes per annum. -
more

Zambia nickel mine
to delay output until 2010 - Zambia's Chinese-owned Munali nickel mine will
delay restarting production to early 2010 from October due to negotiations
over working capital with a Chinese bank, a senior company official said
on Friday. -
more

Panoramic extends
nickel offtake deal - Panoramic Resources has secured a 10-year extension
to its offtake agreement with Jinchuan Group and Sino Nickel for all of the
nickel produced at the Savannah operation in the east Kimberley. -
more

Mindoro
govt has last say on mine project, says Atienza - Environment and Natural
Resources Secretary Jose Atienza Jr. said Friday the environmental compliance
certificate (ECC) issued to a Norwegian mining firm specifies the conditions
that need to be completed before the start of a project, but the local government
units in Mindoro will have the last say on the contested mining project.
-
more

Market Tendency
On Imports Of Ferro-Alloys At 16th November 2009 = Domestic Prices Of
Ferro-Alloys In China Are In Atmosphere To Stop Its Falls - The market tendency
by item on imports of ferro-alloys into Japan at the 16th November of 2009
is as follows -
more

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us

Thursday, November 19

Morning
Briefing(8:00 AM CST
is 1PM in London)

Indicators at 7:15 am CST show 3 month nickel trading around $.07/lb
, with all base metals
lower on a higher Dollar. The US Dollar is trading 7/10 of 1% higher against
the Euro, adding pressure to commodity trading. NYMEX crude futures are trading
nearly 1% lower, and under $79/barrel. Gold is up 1/4 of 1% and silver is
up 3/4 of 1% higher. In overnight trading, Asian markets ended lower, with
China up 1.3 of 1%. European markets are lower this morning, with US futures
implying a lower opening as well. The afternoon update will be delayed as
we are on the road today.

Edward Meir of MF Global Morning Comments - "Metals saw modest gains
on Wednesday, but the group retreated from higher intraday levels, with zinc
even closing lower on the day. The US dollar helped sustain the advance,
as it once again neared resistance of $1.50 against the Euro. However, other
macro news items were not as constructive, namely, data showing that US housing
starts and permits both came in lower than expected in October, continuing
the string of "misses" we have been seeing for much of this week in some
key indicators. Should the macro numbers out over the next several weeks
continue to come in on the weaker side, markets will have to focus on the
possibility of a double-dip recession, in which case many of the high flying
commodity complexes could correct rather sharply and finally decouple from
the weaker dollar. Metals are lower today as sharp rises in copper and aluminum
stocks weigh on sentiment. The dollar is also stronger, now at $1.4860 against
the Euro, and contributing to weaker tone seen in oil and gold as
well. .... Nickel is at $17,000, down $150. Prices broke above the
down-channel earlier this week, but just barely, so the current pullback
is pulling price back below the channel once again, not a technically inspiring
sign." (read Ed Meir's complete morning base metals report
here)

(Bloomberg) Eramet SA unit Societe Le Nickel said its targeting annual
nickel production of 65,000 tons in five years. The company said in a statement
that it expects savings of 90 million euros by 2012.

(Yieh) World Steel Dynamics (WSD) said that because the investment pace on
fixed assets, the Chinese crude steel output would probably go up mildly
next year. WSD mentioned that the Chinese steel output would probably reach
608 million tons, higher than the previous expectation of 584 million tons.

(AISI) The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported today that for
the month of September 2009, U.S. steel mills shipped 5,793,000 net tons,
a 3.9 percent increase from the 5,570,000 net tons shipped in the previous
month, August 2009, and a 26.9 percent decrease from the 7,920,000 net tons
shipped in September 2008.

(Bloomberg) Assmang would switch off the No. 5 furnace at its Machadodorp
Works this month on a lack of demand, before reviewing the market again in
February, the metals producer said yesterday. "The stainless steel market
started showing signs of picking up, but there's not enough demand," said
executive director Jan Steenkamp. The Machadodorp plant would operate at
70 percent capacity after closing. Two other furnaces at Assmang's Cato Ridge
site would stay shut because of refurbishment rather than the demand shortage,
Steenkamp added.

(MFG) Reuters reports that an estimated 50,000-100,000 tons of privately
held nickel stocks could be released into the domestic market in China by
years end, which in turn could lead to a decrease in imports and lower
domestic prices. Privately owned nickel stocks in China are estimated at
130,000 tons and are expected to reach 153,000 tons by the end of the year.

(India) Nickel traded in the positive zone with gains of up to 0.37 per cent
in futures trading at the Multi Commodity Exchange today, supported by
short-covering on a firming trend in the spot markets but overnight weakness
at the London Metal Exchange (LME) capped the upside.

(PI) Botswana Metals will commence a 2000 metre drill program on three of
its Botswana exploration tenements planned for early December. Three anomilus
targets for nickel, copper and platinum group metals are the focus of the
drill program at the Sampowane, Cresent and Airport Prospects.

(Bloomberg) The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development doubled
its growth forecast for the leading developed economies next year and predicted
a further acceleration in 2011 as China powers a global recovery.

Interactive: State-by-state numbers for the 'cash for clunkers' program -
more

Quantities Of
Molybdenum Produced At Major Moly Mines In Jan. - Sep. 2009 = Output In North
- South America Decreased By 11%, Special Procurements From China Sustained
Mo Production - The quantities of molybdenum in molybdenum concentrates produced
at major molybdenum mines in the western world (North America and South America)
for the first 9 months (January - September) of 2009 were as per the table
attached hereto. -
more

Munali Nickel delays
resumption of underground production - Munali Nickel Mine has delayed resumption
of underground production after shareholders approved the refinancing deal
with Jinchuan Group of China, care and maintenance manager Shaun Vokes said
yesterday.
- more

Voestalpine Q2
beats estimates, keeps outlook - Austrian steelmaker Voestalpine swung back
to an operating profit in the three months to September and held on to its
outlook, citing signs that the downturn had bottomed out and that sectors
had stabilised. -
more

Entrepreneurs can
set up steel plants anywhere in the country: Singh - The Union Government
on Thursday announced that entrepreneurs are free to set up steel plants
anywhere in the country except in restricted locations based on their commercial
judgment. -
more

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us

The US Dollar continues to trade lower against the Euro, down over 6/10 of
1%, showing some strength lately. NYMEX crdue futures are up 6/10 of 1% and
falling toward $79.50/barrel. Gold is only slightly higher at the moment,
while silver is up over 2/10 of 1%. Base emtals ended the day mixed. Indicator
charts show nickel took an early bounce on the dipping Dollar, peaked
in early afternoon, before stumbling and giving back much of its gains late.
Dow Jones reports three month nickel ended the day at
$7.76/lb, but was weakening
in late trading. Inventories of nickel stored in LME warehouses, which apparently
mean absolutely diddle to those at the World Bureau of Metal Statistics,
rose slightly overnight, just shy of the 133,000 tonne level. And while they
have grown from 78,822 tonnes on January 2nd of this year, or a gain of 54,108
tonnes, the WBMS reports the world operated in a deficit situation for the
first 9 months of this year - consuming 21,000 tonnes of nickel more than
it produced. Long time readers of this site know our less than positive feelings
about this agency's monthly report and its findings, although the market
appears to care so we post the nonsense. Sucden's day old chart shows an
apparent bottoming of nickel's recent tumble
(chart here). And the Baltic Dry Index jumped 262 points
overnight. Every consecutive positive reading for the BDI puts us into 2009
record highs, as does consecutive nickel gains. The Commerce Department
began the US business morning with news that new housing starts unexpectedly
fell, and fell sharply in October, to their lowest level in six months. US
stock futures had been positive until this report was issued, and the market
opened lower, where it remains. Posted an article below on where to send
a check if you feel bad for the country's debt. The article does not answer
the most obvious question. Since the US government is obviously a not for
profit establishment, and couldn't if it tried, is your gift tax deductible?
And economist J Bradford DeLong, who has been saying the chance of a depression
was nill, has now re-considered.

Indicators at 7:30 am CST show 3 month nickel trading around $.18/lb
higher, with all base
metals higher this morning. The Euro is trading nearly 6/10 of 1% higher
against the US Dollar this morning, adding momentum to metals trading. NYMEX
crude futures are up over 9/10 of 1% and nearing $80/barrel. Gold is up nearly
1/2 of 1% while silver is nearly 1.2% higher. In overnight trading, Asian
markets ended higher, with China up nearly 1.9%. European markets are higher
this morning, and US futures imply Wall Street should continue its bull run
today. Nickel inventories should have fallen overnight, but squeaked out
a slight gain. And the BDI took a big jump, up 262 points.

Edward Meir of MF Global Morning Comments - "Metals ended mixed on Tuesday,
but did well to end up as they did, since the complex had to fight off a
recovering dollar that pulled away from $1.50 resistance against the Euro.
On occasion, we do see sessions like Tuesday's, where commodities hold up
despite a stronger dollar, but these sessions tend to be more the exception
than the norm. In todays trading, the metal-dollar relationship has
reverted back to its more traditional role, as further weakness in the greenback
has resulted in another sprint higher in metals. Copper is at fresh 2009
highs, and trading just under $7000 after Shanghai markets tacked on good
gains overnight. Gold has hit a new record high, and oil is back over the
$80 mark. It seems that the infatuation with commodities continues despite
less than stellar fundamentals. In coppers case, for example, LME stocks
are now at their highest level since April, while inventory in Shanghai
warehouses are at 5-1/2-year high. Similarly, LME zinc stocks are at 4-year
highs, tin stocks at 6-year highs, while nickel stocks are at record highs.
... Nickel is at $17,285, up $385. Prices seem to have broken
above the down-channel we highlighted in yesterdays commentary, but
like aluminum, we suspect nickel will be a relative laggard in the
group." (read Ed Meir's complete morning base metals report
here)

(Dow Jones) The global nickel market was in deficit by 21,000 tons between
January and September, the World Bureau of Metal Statistics said Wednesday.
Nickel demand fell 0.3% to 1.006 million tons in the first nine months of
the year compared to the year-earlier period, while refined production dropped
3.4% on year to 984,400 tons during the period.

(Yieh) In the second half of this month, Yieh United Steel Corp. and Tang
Eng, two big stainless steel maker in Taiwan, both kept the price unchanged.
Recently, because of the fluctuating nickel price, most buyers are holding
an attitude to wait and see. With few real transactions, the market confidence
has fallen to a low level.

(Yieh) Japanese stainless steel output in September totaled 250,630 tons,
dropped by 154 tons than 250784 tons in August and down by 8.7 percent than
274,429 tons in the same time of last year.

Things are
heating up for the SLN - The grumbling at the gates of the SLN is the Pac,
the famous plan to improve competitiveness and job cuts, which must be presented
tomorrow. If everyone agrees on the need to act for the survival of the company,
management and unions differ on the method. Tour d'horizon. Overview. -
translated version
here original French
here

Manila freezes
Intex's permit for $2.4 bln nickel project - The Philippine government on
Wednesday suspended a mining permit given last month to the $2.4 billion
nickel project of Norwegian firm Intex Resources ASA following opposition
from local communities. -
more

BHP Billiton
Is Cautious on World Economic Outlook - BHP Billiton Ltd., the
worlds largest mining company, remains cautious on the
global economy in the short- to medium-term, Chief Executive Office Marius
Kloppers said today.
- more

Australia approves Chinese Hanlong's investment in molybdenum mining company
- Australian regulators have given the green light to a Chinese entity to
take control of molybdenum mining hopeful Moly Mines Ltd for 200 million
U.S. dollars. -
more

Downward trend
in North European steel prices to continue - MEPS (International) Ltd. has
observed steel prices decreasing for most products in northern Europe in
November. -
more

Sudbury Nickel Strike Coverage

About 3,050 hourly rated production and maintenance workers, members of United
Steelworkers Local 6500, have been on strike since July 13. Another 130 USW
Local 6200 members in Port Colborne are also on strike. About 450 members
of USW Local 9508 in Voisey's Bay have been on strike since Aug. 1.

Please let us know if any of these links stop working, stop carrying
info, or become available to subscriber's only. We encourage our readers
to use the services of those companies who supply reports and information
free of charge.Contact
us

The US Dollar continues to trade higher against the Euro, up over 8/10 of
1% at the moment. NYMEX crude is up over 4/10 of 1% and over $79/barrel.
Gold is down nearly 3/10 of 1% and silver is off more than 2/10 of 1%. Base
metals has a quiet day, ending mixed with no major gainers or losers. Indicator
charts show nickel slumped early, but came back in the afternoon and ended
looking strong. Dow Jones reports three month nickel ended the day at
$7.67/lb. Yesterday, we reported
inventories of nickel were just shy of the 132,000 tonne level. Today, they
are even closer to the 133,000 tonne level after a large increase overnight.
Sucden's day old chart shows nickel's rise yesterday
(chart here). The
Baltic Dry Index continues its bullish run, up 161 points to 4,381 and a
new high for 2009. US industrial production rose 0.1% in October according
to a Federal Reserve report today, after an average gain of 0.9% in the prior
three months. Manufacturing output reportedly fell 0.1% in the past
month, after a jump of 0.8% in September. Bloomberg tried to put a positive
spin on otherwise bleak news with its article "U.S. Industrial Output, Price
Reports Show Fed Has Room to Keep Rates Low".

(11/16) Crowflight Minerals Inc announces today that the Company will be
temporarily suspending all production mining and milling operations at the
Bucko Lake Nickel Mine (Bucko) located in the Thompson Nickel Belt near Wabowden,
Manitoba for three months, effective immediately to complete ramp development,
accelerate mine development and upgrade the backfill plant.

(CP) Vale SA says it has settled contracts with 14 labour unions representing
40,000 Brazilian employees, including workers at the Onca Puma nickel laterite
project in Para State, Brazil. A two-year deal was accepted by 87 per cent
of the unions' membership, said Cory McPhee, vice-president of corporate
affairs for Vale Inco Ltd., the Canadian arm of the Brazil-based Vale.

Fed Officials Wondering Aloud: Should We Ever Raise Rates to Burst a Bubble?
-
more

Japan steelmakers
see CO2 credit yield drop by 3 mln T - Japanese steel makers now calculate
carbon credits they have bought from abroad at 56 million tonnes of CO2
equivalent, a business lobby said on Tuesday, down 3 million tonnes from
their previous estimate. -
more

Morning
Briefing(8:00 AM CST
is 1PM in London)

Indicators at 7:25 am CST show 3 month nickel trading around $.05/lb
lower, with most
London traded base metals lower in quiet trading. The US Dollar is adding
pressure on base metals, up 6/10 of 1% against the Euro, as Bernanke's remarks
about "significant challenges ahead" causes Dollar buying. NYMEX crude oil
futures are off 6/10 of 1%, and under $78.50/barrel. Gold is down this morning,
down 3/4 of 1%, while silver is off nearly 9/10 of 1%. In overnight trading,
Asian markets ended slightly lower, with China closing slightly higher. European
markets are lower this morning, and US futures show Wall Street will need
some good news from US reports today to go green. Nickel inventories experienced
another big jump overnight. The first report of the day is out and MarketWatch
reports "U.S. wholesale prices rose a seasonally adjusted 0.3% on higher
food and energy costs, the Labor Department reported Tuesday." Industrial
production for October and the National Association of Home Builders Housing
Market index are due out later.

Edward Meir of MF Global Morning Comments - "Metals were on a tear yesterday,
with copper rallying to its highest level in 13-1/2 months on Monday by adding
a stunning $335/MT on the day. Extended losses in the dollar continued to
propel commodity complexes higher, with gold hitting record highs, while
crude oil tacked on $2.50/barrel. US stocks pushed forward on
better-than-expected October retail sales data, although the New York Empire
manufacturing index came in with its first decline in four months. Also helping
the advance in metals, were weather concerns in northern China and lingering
unease about protracted strike action at a number of mining cites. However,
the dollar was the most instrumental among the variables cited, as markets
began to conclude that there was little any of the governments on President
Obama's Asian itinerary will do in the short-term to stem the decline in
the dollar. As we wrote in Monday's note, the ASEAN communiqué
disappointed in this regard, omitting any mention of a weak dollar and despite
President Obamas arguments to the contrary, the Chinese are not showing
much interest in allowing the Yuan to appreciate on a faster schedule either.
... Nickel is at $16,630, down $170, but nickel still has much work
to do before it breaks out of its down-channel." (read Ed Meir's
complete morning base metals report
here)

(Yieh) Taiwans major stainless steel producer, Yieh United Steel Corp.
(YUSCO), announced to remain its price unchanged for the second half of November
even though the nickel price has declined to current US$16,000~17,000/ton.
The company said that nickel average price for first half of November is
US$17,360/ton which is closed to the average price for October.

(SG) It is reported that Chinese stainless steel output during January to
September 2009 was 6.569 million tonnes up by 37.5% YoY.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke - Monday - ".Today, financial conditions
are considerably better than they were then, but significant economic challenges
remain. The flow of credit remains constrained, economic activity weak, and
unemployment much too high. Future setbacks are possible..... My own view
is that the recent pickup reflects more than purely temporary factors and
that continued growth next year is likely. However, some important
headwindsin particular, constrained bank lending and a weak job
marketlikely will prevent the expansion from being as robust as we
would hope." (excerpt from speech on November 8, 2007 by Mr Bernanke)
We have not calculated the probability of a recession. Our assessment
is for slower growth, but positive growth going into next year. We think
that by the spring, early next year, that, as these credit problems resolve
and as, we hope, the housing market begins to find a bottom, that the broader
resiliency of the economy, which we are seeing in other areas outside of
housing, will take control and will help the economy recover to a more reasonable
growth pace. (Let's all hope he has gotten better at forecasting
in the past two years.)

(JOC) The U.S. Postal Service lost $3.8 billion in its fiscal year 2009,
in what the chief financial officer called one of the most challenging
(years) in the history of the Postal Service.

AK Steel Announces
Stainless Steel Price Increase - AK Steel said today that it will increase
base prices for all 200, 300 and 400 series flat rolled stainless steel products
by 6% to 9%, depending upon the grade and product form, effective with shipments
on January 3, 2010. -
more

25 Mangyans,
priests on hunger strike to protest Norwegian nickel mine - Twenty five
Mindoreños, mostly members of the indigenous Mangyan community, on
Tuesday launched a hunger strike to call for the immediate revocation of
a mining clearance issued by Environment Secretary Lito Atienza to a Norwegian
nickel mine on Mindoro island. -
more

China to Sustain
Steel Output Growth for 5 Years, Analyst Says - Steel production growth in
China will hold above an annual 10 percent for the next five years, Chinese
research group Steelhome.cn said. -
more

China's Imports Of Molybdenum In Aug. - Sep. / 09 Deepen Tendency To Decrease
= Balance On Imports And Exports Of Moly By China In Jan. - Sep. / 09 Had
An Excess Of Imports - According to the customs-statistics released in China,
a balance on imports and exports of molybdenum by this country in the first
9 months (January - September) of 2009 has still indicated an excess of the
imports but a trend to import molybdenum into China is in the direction to
decrease from July. -
more

Baosteel Group scores
steady supply of Indian ferrochrome - Baosteel Resources Co. Ltd., the
wholly-owned subsidiary of China's top steel mill Shanghai Baosteel Group
Corp., has entered into a long-term agreement with India's Facor Group to
procure ferrochrome, Baosteel Group announced on Nov. 17. -
more

The MEPS - EU Average
All Products Steel Price Dips Again in November - The EU producers are currently
facing low order intake as the flurry of activity in early September has
tailed off now that distributors have restocked to appropriate levels. -
more

Courtesy AISI - In
the week ending November 14, 2009, domestic raw steel production was 1,557,000
net tons while the capability utilization rate was 65.3 percent. Production
was 1,209,000 tons in the week ending November 14, 2008, while the capability
utilization then was 50.7 percent. The current week production represents
a 28.8 percent increase from the same period in the previous year. Production
for the week ending November 14, 2009 is up 0.9 percent from the previous
week ending November 7, 2009 when production was 1,544,000 tons and the rate
of capability utilization was 64.7 percent.

U.S. Steel, Aluminum Shipments and Inventories Rise  Shipments
of steel and aluminum products from metals service centers in the United
States rose in October from September levels, and inventories for both metals
rose slightly, the Metals Activity Report from the Metals Service Center
Institute shows. -
more

Sudbury Nickel Strike Coverage

About 3,050 hourly rated production and maintenance workers, members of United
Steelworkers Local 6500, have been on strike since July 13. Another 130 USW
Local 6200 members in Port Colborne are also on strike. About 450 members
of USW Local 9508 in Voisey's Bay have been on strike since Aug. 1.

VALE SA: Mining giant says Steelworkers trying to sully its global reputation
- Vale SA is retaliating against what it charges is a deliberate attempt
by the United Steelworkers to discredit the Brazil-based mining company's
reputation around the world. -
more

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info, or become available to subscriber's only. We encourage our readers
to use the services of those companies who supply reports and information
free of charge.Contact
us

Off session highs, the Euro continues to trade higher against the US Dollar,
now by 3/10 of 1%. NYMEX crude is higher by over 3% and nearing $79/barrel.
Gold hit another record high today, and is currently trading nearly 1-1/2%
higher. Silver is nearly 5%. Base metals ended the session solidly in the
black, with no intention of missing out on the worldwide equity rally. Indicator
charts show nickel started the morning well in the green, drifted a little
and then strengthened again by the end. Dow Jones reports three month nickel
ended the day at $7.60/lb. Inventories of nickel
stored in LME approved warehouses rose yet again over the weekend, and now
stand near the 132,000 tonne level. Every gain is record territory, to levels
not seen since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Sucden's day old chart shows
trading thru last week
(here), showing a down trend and and RSSI and SStoch readings
fairly balanced. The Baltic Dry Index, after gaining 35% in a week,
rose another 109 points to 4,220. While the Dollar's dip helping base metals
today, the primary driver, in our opinion, was news of a huge snowstorm in
China
(here). This is in the mining region of China and
any disruption to Chinese production, could help build demand on otherwise,
growing world inventories of base metals. Much of today's spike was a knee
jerk reaction to the news, and unless the news out of China grows desperate,
we expect the market will resume its pattern of following the Dollar. The
US Commerce Department reported U.S. retail sales increased a seasonally
adjusted 1.4% in October, thanks to the cash-for-clunkers program. Without
vehicle sales, retail sales rose 0.2% in October. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke
just finished a speech in New York
(full text here). The bull has broke out of his pen today.

(Reuters) Analysts as VTB Capital said that should nickel prices fall
significantly below $16,000, Chinese nickel pig iron output will start to
fall and be replaced by increased imports of refined nickel. "Nickel prices
are likely to find a floor soon, close to current levels, and regain their
upward momentum before the end of the year," they added.

(Dow Jones) European steel makers are complaining to regulators about an
iron ore joint venture BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto PLC are planning in
Western Australia. The two mining giants, which were in takeover talks last
year, are planning to jointly produce iron ore at adjacent mines in the region.

The Worst is yet to Come: Unemployed Americans Should Hunker Down for More
Job Losses -
more

The Coming (already came) Land Recession (now depression), Pt I -
more

Treading Carefully
- Nonferrous markets must be on the rebound, as there has been a noticeable
increase in the number of reported metals thefts. This unfortunate phenomenon,
which seemed to explode when copper, aluminum, stainless steel and other
metals climbed to record highs, was greatly reduced when markets cratered
at the end of 2008. -
more

Stainless steel
makers face tough time on export deals for Dec. shipments - Japan's
stainless steel manufacturers face limited contract volumes so far in their
export deals of nickel based CR sheets under negotiation for December shipments
to the rest of Asia, mainly to China. -
more

Flurry of projects
seeing big bucks from investors through mid-2009 - From juniors to producers,
growing numbers of mining firms are having more and more success in capturing
the imagination of investors and tapping into a new-found confidence in the
financial markets. -
more

Before nickel,
Poseidon was a race for gold - When anyone mentions the world "Poseidon"
you tend to think of 1969 and nickel. -
more

Steel sector cautious
about emerging Chinese behemoth - India has reacted cautiously to the proposed
consolidation of steel industry in China. -
more

Morning
Briefing(8:00 AM CST
is 1PM in London)

Indicators at 7:30 am CST show 3 month nickel trading around $.20/lb
higher, with most base
metals higher this morning. The US Dollar is trading 1/2 of 1% lower against
the Euro this morning, giving a boost to commodity trading. Base metals are
also getting a boost of news of a giant snowstorm in northern China that
could affect base metal production in that country. NYMEX crude futures are
up 1-1/4% and over $77/barrel. Gold is up nearly 2/3 of 1% while silver is
1-3/4% higher. In overnight trading, Asian markets ended higher on strong
Japanese third quarter growth figures, with China up 3%. European markets
are higher this morning, as are US futures. Nickel inventories continue to
climb, as does the BDI number.

Edward Meir of MF Global Morning Comments - "Metal prices closed on a stronger
note on Friday after bouncing around uneventfully for much of the session.
A weaker tone to the US dollar helped usher in some buying, as the greenback
faded to close just over 1.49 against the Euro. We are seeing more dollar
weakness once again today, with the currency now trading at $1.4960 against
the Euro and leading to another round of good buying in commodities. Metals
are sharply higher, led by copper. ... Nickel is at $16,584, up $479, and
seeing a good bounce after days of steady selling. However, we did get two
closes below $16,300 last week that suggests further weakness ahead.
(read Ed Meir's complete morning base metals report
here)

(Russian media) Recall that not so long ago, analysts "Royal Bank of Scotland"
(RBS) Stephen Briggs, Nick Moore and Daniel Major, expressed the view that
in China over the past 15 months have accumulated substantial amounts of
non-ferrous metals, which have not been recorded in economic coverage. Analysts
believe that the hidden reserves of nickel accounted for 34% of the total.
In their view, the price of nickel over the next year could fall by 10%,
because due to uncommitted reserves total accumulated volume reached 19 weeks
of consumption.

(Yieh) Affected by the snowstorm in the Northern China, many major projects
have fallen to a stoppage. It is expected that stainless steel demand will
probably witness another snowstorm with surplus stock. Because the nickel
stock remains at a high level and Northern Hemisphere has welcomed the winter,
it is really hard to see the improvement in demand for stainless steel.

(Yieh) Taiwans screw exports have rebounded for two consecutive months.
The export in September was 86,100 tons, hitting the monthly record high
in 2009. However, the export to the US dropped by about 36 percent to only
34,200 ton compared with September in 2008. US has been the biggest importer
of Taiwans screw over the years, but its screw imports declined sharply
in the recent time due to economic downturns

Nickel mining company PT Inco Tbk has provided assistance including stoves
with fuel, equipment for bathing and washing, condensed milk, sardine, sanitary
napkins, including betadin, to Indonesian landslide victims here. The company
handed over the aid to relieve the burden of the landslide victims in Battang
Barat village, Palopo municipality, on Saturday.

(China Daily) China's industrial output is expected to grow by about 16 percent
year-on-year this month and in December and the full year industrial output
growth could reach around 10.5 percent, Minister of Industry and Information
Technology Li Yizhong said on Saturday.

(CCR) China's National Energy Administration (NEA) announced Friday that
the country's power consumption in October rose 15.87 percent year on year
to 313.42 billion kilowatt-hours (kwh), up for the 5th consecutive month
since June. The growth is 5.63 percentage points higher than the September
figure. Accumulative power consumption in the first ten months totaled 2977.5
billion kwh of electricity, up 2.97 percent over the same period last year.

Antaike revises
China nickel consumption estimate upwards - China's real consumption of nickel
may be higher than expected and rise 39.7 percent year on year to 447,000
tonnes this year, a senior analyst at state-backed research group Antaike
said on Friday. -
more

China Metallurgical
Group to bid for BHP's nickel mine - China Metallurgical Group, the parent
of China Metallurgical Co Ltd, will bid for BHP Billiton's failed Ravensthorpe
nickel operation in Western Australia State, the Wall Street Journal reported
on Friday, citing sources with knowledge of the matter as saying. -
more

Poseidon quiet on Ravensthorpe mine - Poseidon Nickel is remaining tight-lipped
over its intentions regarding BHP Billiton's Ravensthorpe nickel operation
as Canada's First Quantum Minerals declines to confirm its in the race. -
more

Canadian firm quiet on Ravensthorpe bid - Canada's First Quantum Minerals
has declined to confirm reports it wants to buy BHP Billiton Ltd's mothballed
Ravensthorpe nickel laterite mine near Esperance in Western Australia. -
more

Highlands Pacific
reports Ramu nickel cobalt project commissioning, on schedule - Highlands
Pacific has confirmed construction and pre-commissioning activities at the
$US1.4bn Ramu nickel cobalt project in Papua New Guinea are on track as per
previous guidance. -
more

Wartime mines
cleared from New Caledonian waters ahead of nickel giants new port
- The opening of new port by the Brazilian Vale Inco nickel company is the
impetus for an international operation to clear New Caledonian waters of
hundreds of wartime mines. -
more

Mining firms
in dispute over Palawan properties - Platinum Group Metals Corp. has threatened
to ask the court to cite the operating unit of listed Oriental Peninsula
Resources Group for contempt if it tries to stop PGMC from operating nickel
mines in Narra and Sofronio Espanola, Palawan. -
more

Century Peak
unit completes 2nd nickel shipment to China - The unit of listed Century
Peak Metals Holdings Corp. has completed its second shipment of nickel ore
from a mine in the Dinagat Islands to China. -
more

Sudbury Nickel Strike Coverage

About 3,050 hourly rated production and maintenance workers, members of United
Steelworkers Local 6500, have been on strike since July 13. Another 130 USW
Local 6200 members in Port Colborne are also on strike. About 450 members
of USW Local 9508 in Voisey's Bay have been on strike since Aug. 1.

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free of charge.Contact
us

The US Dollar took a recent dip against the Euro, down 1/2 of 1% with most
of the activity coming in the last half hour. NYMEX crude is trading even,
off earlier lows. Gold is up 1-1/4% while silver is trading 1-1/10% higher.
Base metals ended the session mixed, but have taken an after market bounce
since the Dollar took a dive. Indicator charts show nickel struggled for
footing early, fell in the afternoon, before recovering in after market trading.
Dow Jones reports three month nickel ended the day at
$7.30/lb, but has since
risen into the green. For the week, nickel prices were down 9%. Sucden's
day old chart shows trading thru yesterday
(here). Inventories of nickel stored in LME warehouses
rose by a tiny amount overnight, adding 1,686 tonnes for the week. A large
increase, but a little over half the 3,240 tonnes it gained in the first
week of this month. During the entire month of October the total grew by
5,910 tonnes. The Baltic Dry Index added another 157 points, closing at 4,111
for the week. Those who follow the BDI closely are reporting the increase
in the index is due to renewed activity of raw material shipments globally,
and building port delays for shippers. The index may be skewed by an abundance
in ships, but the increase in activity is good news for the world economy.
The Commerce Department reported that imports rose faster than exports during
September and the U.S. trade deficit widened by 18.2% to $36.5 billion. The
Reuters/University of Michigan consumer confidence index unexpectedly fell
for a second month, down to 66 from 70.6. In response, Wall Street is up
over 100 points as we publish. Go figure.

(Angel Commodities) We expect base metal prices to trade with a negative
bias. Nickel prices could remain under pressure as inventories are rising
amid soft stainless steel demand. But a sharp downside in copper prices will
be protected by the ongoing labour issues. There is a lot of uncertainty
over the economic recovery and that could lead to risk aversion in the financial
markets, thereby deteriorating the demand for higher-yielding and riskier
investment assets.

Indicators at 7:25 am CST show 3 month nickel trading unchanged
, with other base
metals barely higher and quiet. The Euro is trading less than 1/10 of 1%
higher against he US Dollar this morning, adding a slight boost to
commodity trading. NYMEX crude is more than 4/10 of 1% lower and at
$76.60/barrel. Gold is nearly 1/2 of 1% higher while silver is 1/3 of 1%
higher. On overnight trading, Asian markets ended slightly higher, with China
up 1/2 of 1%. European markets are also slightly higher on news Europe emerged
from teh recession in the third quarter, although not as much as expected,
while US futures are following suit, just slightly higher at the moment on
news Disney profits were higher than expected. Inventories of nickel are
slightly higher, and bucking the "slightly" trend, the BDI made another 157
point jump. It is Friday the 13th, for those who missed the memo.

Edward Meir of MF Global Morning Comments - "Metal prices ended lower on
Thursday, weighed down by a rebound in the US dollar and growing concerns
about rising LME inventories, particularly in copper, where stocks nudged
above the 400,000 ton mark. Nickel was the biggest casualty of the day, with
prices down by some 5%. Nickel inventories have now pushed above 131,000
tons to their highest level since early 1995. However, it was the bounce
in the dollar away from key resistance at $1.50 against the Euro that exerted
the greatest downside pressure on metals, with gold and crude oil also joining
the sell-off. What seemed to have triggered yesterday's dollar rally were
reports that several Asian countries are starting to buy the US currency
in an effort to improve their competitiveness against the yuan-dollar peg.
In this regard, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that central
banks in India, South Korea, Thailand, and Taiwan were all stepping up purchases
to keep their currencies from appreciating against the Yuan. In fact, we
would not be surprised to see the Europeans also jump into the fray, particularly
if the Euro busts through the $1.50 mark in more decisive fashion. As of
this writing, the dollar has eased up a bit, now trading at $1.4875, and
allowing a measure of strength to set into the various commodity markets.
Copper is up by about $10/MT despite another rise in LME stocks and there
are modest gains in most of the other metals. Crude oil is up by about $.10
a barrel, after tumbling sharply yesterday, and US stocks are called slightly
higher. .... Nickel is at $16,120, down $70; another close below $16,300
today will warrant another downward shift in our support levels. High LME
stocks continue to bear down on the complex, negating the bullish comments
on stainless demand put forth by Antaike overnight." (read Ed Meir's
complete morning base metals report
here)

(Interfax) Crude stainless steel output at 6.57 mln tons at end of Q3 - China's
crude stainless steel output reached 6.57 million tons in the first nine
months of 2009, up 37.25 percent year-on-year, according to a report from
the Stainless Steel Council of China Special Steel Enterprises Association
(CSSC) on Nov. 10.

(MB) Jinchuan cuts nickel price 2% on poor sales

(Antaike) China's Jien Nickel announced on Thursday that its acquisition
of Canadian Royalties Inc. has been approved by two thirds of the latter's
shareholders and convertible debt holders.

(SO) Indian industrial production up 9.1 percent in September

(JMB) POSCO to Increase Ferronickel Output to 150,000T for 2010

(DJ) China 2009 Nickel Consumption To Rise To 447,000 Tons -Antaike

(SSY) The world export price for hot rolled band fell for the third consecutive
month, down by $7/t from two weeks earlier to a 5-month low of $496/t, according
to World Steel Dynamics SteelBenchmarker. US and EU HRB prices are
both down from two weeks ago to stand at 3-month lows of $570/t and $577/t
respectively. In contrast, Chinese HRB prices rose for the second straight
month to the current level of $437/t.

(CD) China will overtake the United States as the world's largest construction
market by 2018, according to a forecast by Global Construction Perspectives
and Oxford Economics on Thursday.

Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) Fell 0.5% in September from August
-
more

Nickel Will Drop
8% by Year-End as Demand Weakens, CRU Says - Nickel, heading for its worst
week in two months, will decline 8 percent by the end of the year as demand
weakens, research group CRU said. -
more

Antaike revises
China nickel consumption estimate upwards - China's real consumption of nickel
may be higher than expected and rise 39.7 percent year on year to 447,000
tonnes this year, a senior analyst at state-backed research group Antaike
said on Friday. -
more

PNG's Ramu nickel
mine output delayed to June-exec - Production from the Ramu nickel mine in
Papua New Guinea will likely be delayed until June of 2010, an executive
with the mine's developer told Reuters on Friday. -
more

Three bidders
remain for BHP's failed Ravensthorpe mine: Sources - Final bids for BHP
Billiton's failed Ravensthorpe nickel operation in Western Australia are
due November 25, two people familiar with the situation said today. -
more

Project To
Strengthen Facilities For FeCr At Mogale Alloys In South Africa Is Unofficially
Investigating = Present Capacity To Produce 100,000 Tons / Year Will Enlarge
To Produce 450,000 Tons / Year For Future - The media in South Africa informed
in last week that the Ruukki Group of Finland, which is the parent company
of Mogale Alloys (Pty) Ltd. in South Africa as a producer of ferro-chrome,
has been unofficially investigating to reform and enlarge the facilities
to produce ferro-chrome at Mogale's Krugersdorp plant. -
more

FNX Mining "ready
to grow", could add assets-CEO - Canadian nickel and copper miner FNX Mining
is ready to focus on growth after a challenging year, and could look to add
more assets in the Sudbury, Ontario metals mining area, the company's chief
executive said on Thursday. -
more

Current nickel price not 'realistic'  FNX chief - The nickel
market is skewed at the moment by a strike at Vale Inco's Sudbury, Ontario,
and Voisey's Bay operations, which raises questions over the sustainability
of the current price, FNX Mining CEO Terry MacGibbon said on Thursday. -
more

ThyssenKrupp Loss
Misses Estimates After Steel Demand Tumbles - ThyssenKrupp AG, Germanys
largest steelmaker, posted its first full-year loss since the company was
formed in a merger a decade ago, missing analyst estimates after demand tumbled.
-
more

Sudbury Nickel Strike Coverage

About 3,050 hourly rated production and maintenance workers, members of United
Steelworkers Local 6500, have been on strike since July 13. Another 130 USW
Local 6200 members in Port Colborne are also on strike. About 450 members
of USW Local 9508 in Voisey's Bay have been on strike since Aug. 1.

Please let us know if any of these links stop working, stop carrying
info, or become available to subscriber's only. We encourage our readers
to use the services of those companies who supply reports and information
free of charge.Contact
us

The US Dollar continues to gain ground on the Euro, up nearly 8/10 of 1%
as we update, after U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the government
wouldn't need to borrow as much as they originally thought to get thru the
economic crisis. NYMEX crude is down over 2-3/4% and about to fall under
$77/barrel. Gold took a pause today, down 1% and silver is down 2%. Base
metals ended lower as well. Nickel spent the entire day on the slide, recovering
a touch at the end of the session. Dow Jones reports three month nickel ended
the day at $7.34/lb
, its lowest
close since July 22nd. Inventories of nickel stored in LME warehouses rose
only slightly overnight, with cancelled warrants stuck below 1%. Sucden had
their technical support for nickel at $7.38/lb on their day old chart
(here), and since we fell thru that today, it will be
interesting where they set it tomorrow. The Baltic Dry Index gained 206 points
to 3,954, its highest level since June 22nd. The Labor Department reported
that for the 52nd consecutive week, over 500,000 people filed for unemployment
benefits in the week ending November 7th. The number was 12,000 lower than
the prior week, and continuing claims declined 139,000 to a seasonally adjusted
5.63 million, its lowest number since March. Interesting interview with Outokumpu
below.

(JOC) The output of the freight transportation industry declined 0.5 percent
in September from August, blunting a three-month long recovery, according
to a report Thursday from the U.S. Department of Transportations Bureau
of Transportation Statistics. The agencys Freight Transportation Services
Index, which includes data from for-hire trucking, rail, inland waterways,
pipelines and air freight, fell to 95.7, the lowest level for September since
September 1996 when it was 87.7.

Interview -Big
nickel price rises unlikely soon-Outokumpu - Nickel prices are unlikely to
rise strongly in the next two year because of weak fundamentals, Finnish
stainless steel maker Outokumpu said on Thursday. -
more

Ruukki says metal
demand to rise slowly, outlook hazy - Demand for products such as iron ore
and zinc used to make steel will rise slowly, but the outlook is cloudy and
forecasting future needs is difficult, Finnish steelmaker Rautaruukki told
Reuters on Thursday. -
more

China's refined
copper output rises in first 10 months - (excerpt) China's refined lead,
zinc, and nickel production from January to October also saw year-on-year
increases, up 19.4 percent, 5.8 percent, and 17.9 percent respectively to
3.16 million tons, 3.52 million tons, and 176,651 tons. -
more

Morning
Briefing(8:00 AM CST
is 1PM in London)

Indicators at 7:30 am CST show 3 month nickel trading around $.21/lb
lower, with most
metals lower on a rising Dollar. The US Dollar is trading over 4/10 of 1%
higher against the Euro at the moment, adding pressure to commodities. NYMEX
crude futures are off nearly 1% and around $78.50/barrel. Gold is off 3/10
of 1% while silver is lower by more than 4/10 of 1%. In overnight trading,
Asian markets ended lower, with China pulling off a slight gain. European
markets are trading slightly lower this morning, while US futures show Wall
Street is slightly bearish this morning. Nickel inventories rose slightly
overnight, while the BDI made another large jump. Wal-Mart reported third
quarter profits rose by 3.2% but advised "on a comparable-store basis, sales
excluding fuel fell 0.5%, short of the company's original forecast of sales
in the range of flat to up 2%."

(Dow Jones) LME nickel is leading the base metals lower as warehouse stocks
continue to rise and output in China increases, says Citigroup analyst David
Thurtell. Nickel output in China for October was up 40.7% from the year earlier
and "stocks keep relentlessly rising," he adds

(Reuters) Outokumpu is taking new actions to restructure its stainless tubular
business unit. To optimize production and cut costs the company intends to
close its production site in Veteli in Finland.

(SBB) China stainless output surges 37% in Jan-Sep

(SMM) China's nickel output is expected to fall further this month after
dropping 6.7% in October on weak demand from the stainless steel sector.

(AAR) The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported that freight
rail carloadings were down 15.3 percent in October 2009 (at 1,100,714 carloads)
compared with the same month last year, marking the twelfth straight month
of double-digit declines.

(MW) The volume of mortgage applications filed to purchase homes last week
hit the lowest level in nearly nine years, the Mortgage Bankers Association
reported Thursday.

(CD) China's industrial output rose 16.1 percent in October from a year earlier,
as the economy saw a consolidated recovery of growth with massive government
spending.

Stainless Steel
Production In Europe Is Receding To Recover = Spot Price Of High Carbon FeCr
Has Inclined To Weaken - A revival in production of stainless steel products
in Europe was once expected but the recovery in October - December quarter
of 20009 is supposed to be difficult to materialize. In Europe, where has
postponed an expectation to recover production of stainless steel to the
next year of 2010, many negative factors, which major stainless steel companies
have planned to reduce their production and the stocks of stainless steel
products held by stockists are unable to decrease, have been sporadically
seen at present. -
more

Ferrochrome
users landed with SA energy costs - Prices of ferrochrome, the key ingredient
in stainless steel, will have to rise to accommodate increasing power tariffs
in South Africa, and in coming years there may be a capacity shortage because
of electricity constraints in the country, said David Kovarsky, CEO of LSE-listed
International Ferro Metals Ltd (IFL) -
more

Negotiated Sales
Limited In Dec Japanese Exports Of Ni-Based Stainless Steel - Japan's stainless
steel manufacturers face limited contract volumes so far in their export
deals of nickel-based CR sheets under negotiation for December shipments
to the rest of Asia, mainly to China. -
more

ENRC output
to return to 2008 levels, wary on 2010 - Kazakh mining group ENRC will return
output next year to 2008 levels, but is still wary about the outlook for
2010 as it posted a 2.1 percent fall in third-quarter output of ferrochrome,
a key product. -
more

ENRC: 2010 Iron Ore, Ferrochrome Output Seen Nr 2008 Levels - Eurasian Natural
Resources Corp. PLC Thursday said production of its main commodities had
nearly returned to pre-financial crisis levels, though the Kazakh miner cautioned
that risks of volatility in prices and output remain. -
more

Mining executives
among top earners - Two executives from the Australian mining industry have
placed among the top five highest paid company executives in the country.
-
more

Mincor confident about future - Nickel miner Mincor Resources NL says it
has weathered the storm of the global financial slowdown and looks to the
future with confidence with a robust balance sheet and well-performing mines.
-
more

Salzgitter sees
fragile European steel market - Salzgitter, Germany's second-biggest steelmaker,
warned on Thursday that overproduction could smother a tentative recovery
in the European steel market. -
more

Sudbury Nickel Strike Coverage

About 3,050 hourly rated production and maintenance workers, members of United
Steelworkers Local 6500, have been on strike since July 13. Another 130 USW
Local 6200 members in Port Colborne are also on strike. About 450 members
of USW Local 9508 in Voisey's Bay have been on strike since Aug. 1.

Vale Inco retraining workers to replace striking colleagues - Nickel miner
Vale Inco Ltd. is training replacement workers so it can re-open a smelter
that has been idle since workers went on strike in July. -
more

China extends Rio Tinto probe 2 months: Australia - China has extended
an investigation of detained Rio Tinto mining executive Stern Hu by two months,
Australian officials said Thursday, calling for a quick resolution to the
long-running case. -
more

China reaffirms principle of investigation of Rio Tinto case - China will
handle the Rio Tinto case according to Chinese law and the China-Australia
Consular Agreement, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said at a
regular news briefing on Thursday. -
more

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The US Dollar is now trading slightly higher against the Euro, after spending
much of the morning in the cellar. NYMEX crude is up 1/3 of 1%, and under
$79.50/barrel. Gold is up 7/10 of 1%, while silver is up by 8/10 of 1%. Base
metals ended the session mixed, with most ending slightly higher. Indicator
charts show nickel made a run early this morning, thanks in part to the falling
Dollar, but well before the Dollar got into trouble, nickel had given up
all its morning gains. In fact, the Dollar dip actually saw nickel increase
a little. In the end, Dow Jones reports three month nickel ended the day
at $7.62/lb
, a penny
less than yesterday's close, and after market trading saw nickel climb back
into the black. Inventories of nickel stored in LME warehouses rose
overnight, climbing over the 131,500 tonne level. Sucden's day old chart
shows nickel trading thru yesterday and the recent downtrend is obvious
(here). Market opened this morning with the RSI and SStoch
numbers reflecting a seriously oversold market. The Baltic Dry Index gained
another 133 points to 3,748. Another quiet day on the stainless and nickel
fronts.

Finnish miner Talvivaara CEO Pekka Per said Talvivaara remained confident
that the ramp up towards production levels of about 30,000 tonnes of nickel
per annum in 2010 remained on track.

(JMB) Japanese major 8 nonferrous metal smelters posted year-to-year lower
sales and profits for the first half of fiscal 2009 (April-September) due
to price down of base metals and demand decline for nonferrous metal products.
Market prices of base metals currently returned to the level as high as before
global economy deterioration and demand for nonferrous metal products recovered
to 70-80% level compared with the first half of fiscal 2008. Meanwhile, demand
recovery is delayed in several fields and yen exchange rate keeps strong.

Toledo Mining
hit by off-take cancellation from Berong mine - Toledo Mining, the AIM listed
nickel mining company working in the Philippines, has been hit by news that
one of the buyers of nickel laterite ore from its Berong mine has terminated
its contract. -
more

Barrick May Consider
Selling Some Assets in Tanzania - Barrick Gold Corp. Chief Executive
Officer Aaron Regent said the worlds largest gold producer will consider
selling some assets including the Kabanga nickel mine in Tanzania. He spoke
today at a conference in London. -
more

Colin Barnett
threat to BHP-Rio Pilbara merger - West Australian Premier Colin Barnett
has warned BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto he could spike their contentious plan
to merge their Pilbara iron ore operations by not passing vital legislation
if they do not agree to pay raised royalties. -
more

Morning
Briefing(8:00 AM CST
is 1PM in London)

Indicators at 7:20 am CST show 3 month nickel trading around $.15/lb
, with all base metals
trading solidly in the green. The US Dollar is trading 3/10 of 1% lower against
the Euro, giving commodities a boost. NYMEX crude oil is trading 4/10 of
1% higher and over $79/barrel. Gold doesn't seem to care what direction the
Dollar is heading these days, and is up nearly 9/10 of 1%, while silver is
up nearly 2%. In overnight trading, Asian markets ended higher, with China
down nearly 1/4 of 1%. European markets are higher this morning on news
Japans machinery orders rose, Chinas industrial production
accelerated and South Koreas unemployment fell. US futures show the
bull is firmly in control on Wall Street, with a stronger opening expected.
Inventories of stockpiled nickel rose again overnight.

Edward Meir of MF Global Morning Comments - Metal prices finished mixed on
Tuesday amid very quiet conditions across practically all markets. Nickel
was perhaps the weakest in the group, hitting seven-week lows after support
at $17,600 gave away earlier in the week. The fact that the dollar stalled
around the $1.50 mark against the Euro had a lot to do with the lackluster
session, especially since we had nothing out of the US in terms of macro
news. Metals are higher right now after an uneventful Shanghai session, as
the dollar is struggling once again, now at a recent high of $1.5035 against
the Euro. Crude oil prices are also up by about $.50 despite rather bearish
API inventory numbers out last night, while US stocks are expected to open
higher after yesterdays listless session. ... As the markets
digest the impact of these contradictory Chinese figures, it will primarily
be up to the dollar to dictate the pace of market conditions in the very
short-term. This is not saying very much new of course, but metals along
with energy and gold, have become default trading proxies for those seeking
to capitalize on a weaker currency. ... Nickel is at $17,174, up $349, but
charts still look weak, and we are sticking to our downside target of $16,300
for now." (read Ed Meir's complete morning base metals report
here)

(Yieh) According to the data from Japan Iron & Steel Federation (JISF),
Japan imported 13,316 tons of stainless steel products in September, up by
12 percent compared to the last month.

(MF) Nickel producer Eramet plans to raise capacity by only 3% to 55,000
tons next year, Eramets executive vice-president told Reuters. He added
that he thought nickel prices are at manageable levels for both producers
and consumers. "We don't want to have too low prices as we have seen in the
past, and we don't want to see too high prices also because it creates a
false situation where volatility would be detrimental.

(FT) Global miners strengthened their hand in their critical annual iron
ore negotiations with steelmakers after spot prices rose above $100 a tonne
on Tuesday for the first time since the summer.

(NFIB) The Index of Small Business Optimism gained 0.3 points, rising to
89.1 (1986=100), 8.1 points higher than the surveys second lowest reading
reached in March (the lowest reading was 80.1 in 1980:2). In the 1980-82
recession period, the Index was below 90 in only one quarter. In this recession,
the Index has been below 90 for six quarters, indicative of the severity
of this downturn.

(MD) September U.S. manufacturing technology consumption totaled $153.55
million, according to the American Machine Tool Distributors Association
and the Association For Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported
by companies participating in the USMTC program, was up 17.8% from August
but down 69.3% from the total of $500.57 million reported for September 2008.

Miner Talvivaara
Q3 loss deeper, sticks to target - Finnish nickel and zinc miner Talvivaara
posted a deeper third-quarter loss on Wednesday due to weak output, but said
it was over the worst of its production problems -
more

Update on
Berong Nickel Operation - Toledo Mining Corporation plc wishes to advise
that Berong Nickel Corporation, the Philippine registered company in which
Toledo has a 56.1% economic interest, has received notice from Queensland
Nickel Pty Ltd to terminate the contract between the companies whereby QNP
is required to purchase a minimum of 300,000 wet metric tonnes of nickel
laterite ore per annum from BNC until mid-2012. -
more

Japanese steel maker
warns of Chinese investment - The chairman of one of Japan's biggest steel
producers has warned that state-controlled Chinese investment in WA's resources
must be monitored carefully because of its potential to create "intense strain"
with nations in the region competing for Australian minerals. -
more

China's daily crude
steel output remains high in October - China's daily crude steel output reached
an average of 1.67 million tons in October, lower than the 1.69 million tons
recorded in September, according to a report released by the National Bureau
of Statistics on Nov. 11. -
more

China's commodity output surges - China's production of metals, fuel and
power stayed at record levels last month as industrial output hit a 19-month
high, but falling imports of copper and iron ore fuelled doubts whether it
really needed so much material. -
more

Sudbury Nickel Strike Coverage

About 3,050 hourly rated production and maintenance workers, members of United
Steelworkers Local 6500, have been on strike since July 13. Another 130 USW
Local 6200 members in Port Colborne are also on strike. About 450 members
of USW Local 9508 in Voisey's Bay have been on strike since Aug. 1.

Vale Intends to Restart Sudbury Smelter Amid Strike - Vale SA, the
worlds second-biggest nickel producer, intends to resume partial operations
at the metals smelter at Sudbury, its largest nickel and copper mine in Canada,
amid a strike. No talks with strikers are planned. -
more

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to use the services of those companies who supply reports and information
free of charge.Contact
us

The US Dollar continues to trade higher against the Euro, by 3/10 of 1% at
the moment. NYMEX crude is down 1-2/3% and a little over $78/barrel. Gold
is now trading lower, by 2/10 of 1%, and silver is off 2%. Base metals ended
the session mixed, with nickel the only major mover. Indicator charts show
nickel slumped early, and was never able to crawl out of the cellar. Dow
Jones reports three month nickel ended the day at
$7.63/lb. Nickel stored in
LME approved warehouses saw stock numbers rise overnight, but only slightly.
The Baltic Dry Index rose yet again, up 135 points to 3,615. Most will tell
you that with an over-supply in shipping, these numbers do not mean what
they used to, but after solid gains over the last few weeks, we are encouraged
by the increase. This number helps track shipments of raw material globally.
Markets are docile today and not much news. So we leave you with a
clip from a Reuters article below .... "A number of those who took part in
the poll said issues remained over volatility, with speculators rather than
supply and demand dictating price direction. "We don't want another nickel,"
said one conference delegate. He said stainless steel prices were low "but
nickel prices have gone through the roof and it's all speculative
driven." What??? Speculative??? Say it ain't so!!

Citi analyst David Thurtell - "Stainless steel producers in China have
probably backed away in the market. .... Stainless steel demand in the last
month or two has fallen away a bit...but world demand should pick up so nickel's
downside from here should be relatively limited."

Rockefeller Center - State Tax Revenues Show Record Drop, For Second Consecutive
Quarter -
pdf here

Ferro-alloy
delegates say to use new LME contracts - Many delegates at the international
ferro-alloys conference in Monte Carlo plan to use soon-to-be launched London
Metal Exchange minor metal contracts, but doubts about the benefits persist,
a straw poll showed. -
more

Chromex to
restart mining operations at Stellite Mine in December, shares jump - investors
reacted warmly to an update from South Africa focused chromite produce, Chromex
Mining, which reported today that it was continuing to generate positive
cash flow and announced the acquisition of additional chrome assets in Zimbabwe.
-
more

Industries demand
action over scrap metal thieves - Selling scrap metal for cash could go the
way of the rag and bone man if a proposal from the utilities and transport
industries is adopted as the latest tactic against scrap metal thieves. -
more

MMCZ lifts ban
on chrome ore export - The Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ)
has lifted the ban on the export of chrome ore and chrome fines. -
more

Morning
Briefing(8:00 AM CST
is 1PM in London)

Indicators at 7:20 am CST show 3 month nickel trading around $.26/lb
lower, with most
other base metals only slightly lower. The US Dollar is trading 2/10 of 1%
higher against the Euro, adding pressure to commodity trading. NYMEX crude
is only slightly lower at the moment and just under $79.50/barrel. Gold is
up over 1/2 of 1% while silver is up over 1%. In overnight trading,
Asian markets ended higher, with China up nearly 1/4 of 1%. European markets
are lower this morning no news German investor confidence fell for a second
consecutive month. And US futures show a slight drop this morning is possible
for Wall Street. Nickel inventories rose slightly overnight. The International
Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs reported chain-store sales
rose 2.9% last week, down 0.1% from the week prior. The ICSC forecasts November
sales could be up 5% to 8% against November 2008, when sales fell by a stunning
7.7%.

Edward Meir of MF Global Morning Comments - Metals closed higher on Monday,
as a weakening dollar and a 15% increase in physical copper premiums passed
on by Codelco to its Asian customers, both combined to reassure the longs.
However, of the two variables, it was the dollar that was the key upside
driver, particularly after the greenback fell to a 15-month low against a
basket of currencies on Monday. Perhaps just as importantly, currency markets
are watching to see how the greenback will fare now that it is hovering around
the $1.50 mark. As we noted yesterday, should it pull away from this level
entirely, it could turn the $1.50 area into new support, and trigger another
round of buying in a number of commodities, particularly in gold, which seems
to be setting new highs every day. So far in today's action, the dollar seems
to be holding steady, now trading at exactly $1.50, and having weakened from
the $1.4950 level seen earlier. Its relatively unchanged performance has
allowed a measure of selling to set into the markets, particularly in copper
and nickel. A weak Shanghai session, coupled with stock increases noted in
a number of complexes, are also contributing to the lackluster session thus
far. Energy prices are down slightly, after a good advance yesterday, while
US stocks are also called to open slightly lower as well..... Nickel
is at $16,950, down $480. A second consecutive close below $17,600 yesterday
has contributed to further technical weakness, and we now see next support
at $16,300. (read Ed Meir's complete morning base metals report
here)

(Yieh) China's Taigang Stainless Steel's Q3 financial report showed a good
performance compared with 2008 same period. According to its Q3 report, the
company reached RMB716 million net profit in the period, up by 72.66 percent
from the same period of last year.

(Reuters) China's crude steel output in October rose from the month before
to an estimated 51.55 million tonnes, close to a record of 51.65 million
tonnes in August, industry consultancy Custeel said on Tuesday, citing industry
figures. China's daily crude steel output in October was 1.663 million tonnes,
up 0.85 percent from 1.649 million tonnes in September but below the record
1.666 million tonnes in August, Custeel said, citing estimates from the China
Iron and Steel Association (CISA).

(Fortis) We are confident that nickel will benefit handsomely during the
restocking phase - when that arrives - but for now its supply-demand fundamentals
are poor and this ought to deter any rash speculative investment interest
from diving in. Much of the metal that has built up in the LME has derived
from Russia, suggesting that there is little appetite from European mills
to ramp up stainless steel output, despite orders rising slightly over the
past two months. This nickel producer discipline is critical to ensure prices
remain stable by matching demand, and could be supportive to the nickel price
next year, if inventories begin to fall. Short-term LME three-month price:
$16,000/t-$19,500/t.

(SSY) Meanwhile, port congestion at Chinas iron ore terminals still
appears to be on the increase, with an estimated 43 Capesizes now waiting
to berth compared with 22 three weeks ago. According to SSYs Capesize
Iron Ore Port Congestion Index for China, average berthing delays at
Chinas leading iron ore discharge terminals have increased to around
6 days, the highest level since end-August.

The American Hardware Manufacturers Associations AHMA Home Improvement
Industry Confidence Indexs Current Situation Index remained at 45.8
in October (the same reading as September), while the Future Expectations
Index moved up to an all-time high of 201.7 from 191.4 in September.

Chrome output
must rise 50 pct in next decade -ENRC - Chrome production will need to increase
by around 50 percent within the next decade to keep up with Chinese stainless
steel demand, Kazakh miner ENRC said. -
more

SC favors
PGMC on Palawan nickel claims - The Supreme Court (SC) has denied motions
for reconsideration filed by the operating unit of the Oriental Peninsula
Resources Group and upheld its earlier decision favoring Platinum Group Metals
Corp. (PGMC) in all 4 cases arising from the firms' fight for control over
nickel mines in Palawan. -
more

Courtesy AISI - In
the week ending November 7, 2009, domestic raw steel production was 1,544,000
net tons while the capability utilization rate was 64.7 percent. Production
was 1,209,000 tons in the week ending November 7, 2008, while the capability
utilization then was 50.7 percent. The current week production represents
a 27.7 percent increase from the same period in the previous year. Production
for the week ending November 7, 2009 is up 3.3 percent from the previous
week ending October 31, 2009 when production was 1,495,000 tons and the rate
of capability utilization was 62.7 percent.

Sudbury Nickel Strike Coverage

About 3,050 hourly rated production and maintenance workers, members of United
Steelworkers Local 6500, have been on strike since July 13. Another 130 USW
Local 6200 members in Port Colborne are also on strike. About 450 members
of USW Local 9508 in Voisey's Bay have been on strike since Aug. 1.

Please let us know if any of these links stop working, stop carrying
info, or become available to subscriber's only. We encourage our readers
to use the services of those companies who supply reports and information
free of charge.Contact
us

The US Dollar is getting hammered today, down over 1% against the Euro. NYMEX
crude oil is up over 3% and nearing $80/barrel again. Gold is up 3/4 of 1%
and over $1010/ounce, while silver is higher by more than 1.2%. Base metals
ended mixed and did not react to the Dollar dip as they have in the past.
Indicator charts show nickel trading was choppy, but ended lower. Dow Jones
reports three month nickel ended the day at
$7.91/lb. Inventories of nickel
stored in LME approves warehouses swelled again over the weekend, and now
sit well over the 131,000 tonne level. Sucden's day old charts shows nickel
trading on the London Metal Exchange last week, and the weakness Friday
(chart here). The Baltic Dry Index gained 87 points, to
3,480. Nickel appears to be in trouble, with the Dollar not giving it the
upward pressure that it normally does. We fell below Ed Meir's support on
Friday, which now places nickel's overall trend in the negative. The fastener
distribution industry got some good news Friday, when the U.S. trade panel
rejected an investigation into imports of Taiwan and Chinese steel fasteners.
We have seen some reports that steel prices in China are moving upwards.
The index we follow concurs with that, but not by much, and its still shaky.
We can advise that the Chinese stainless steel index we monitor, is still
sliding, although its been only slightly now for the last month.

German steel body
sees recovery only by 2011 - There will be no recovery for Germany's steel
industry until at least 2011, following a "very difficult" 2010, the country's
steel federation said on Monday. -
more

Morning
Briefing(8:00 AM CST
is 1PM in London)

Indicators at 7:25 am CST show 3 month nickel trading around $.02/lb
higher, with all base
metals slightly higher this morning. The US Dollar is trading over 9/10 of
1% lower against the Euro, which should be giving a big boost to commodity
trading. NYMEX crude futures are up nearly 1-1/2% and over $78.50/barrel.
Gold is up over 1%, while silver is up over 1/8%. In overnight trading, Asian
markets ended higher with China up 1/3 of 1%. European markets are stronger
this morning, and US futures show Wall Street will open in a very bullish
mood. Nickel inventories took another big leap over the weekend, while
China's Jinchuan will no loner be considered in the possible sale of
Ravensthorpe. The BDI rose by 87 points.

Edward Meir of MF Global Morning Comments - Metal prices ended up modestly
lower on Friday, although the selloff was not as sharp as what we saw in
energy, where investors reacted more negatively to the grim US unemployment
news. In this regard, the jobless rate jumped to a 26-1/2-year high of 10.2%
in October, while 190,000 jobs were also cut during the month, more than
the 175,000 expected. The sorry state of consumer spending was brought into
sharper focus as well, with a much higher than expected decline reported
for September consumer credit. Indeed, credit fell by 7.2%, its eighth straight
monthly decline, and constituting the longest declining streak since the
Federal Reserve started keeping records in 1943. We are more than making
up for Fridays declines as of this writing, with the metals complex
sharply higher on account of a plunging US dollar and a buoyant energy complex.
It remains to be seen how the greenback will fare as it pushes against the
$1.50 mark against the Euro, which it is where it is now. It did breach $1.50
earlier in the morning, but should it pull away from this mark, this would
be a technically very negative sign and could result in another across-the-board
commodity advance. .. Nickel is at $17,402, up $52, but chart patterns look
uninspiring, with a short-term down channel (marked by the red line) still
in place. More importantly, we closed below the $17,600 support mark on Friday,
and are watching to see if this repeats again today for a second consecutive
time.

(Yieh) Patrick Lamarque, the CEO of the Ugitech Corporation, said that the
stainless steel demand and price will probably not rebound in the fourth
quarter of this year. He also said that stainless steel sales enjoyed a short
rebound in September but fell again after September. Lamarque reckoned that
the market situation would turn better in 2010 but the pace of recovery would
be very slow.

(MNP) Chinese nickel producer Jinchuan group says it is no longer in the
running to buy the Ravensthorpe project and is instead focused on other
opportunities, according to Metals X.

(Dow Jones) Western Areas: Target To Double Nickel Output In 2010

(JMB) Ni Stainless Cold Rolled Price to Increase in Tokyo

(CD) China's passenger cars sales in October surged 75.8 percent from a year
earlier, official data showed, extending the explosive growth in recent months
as government incentive policies continued to lure customers.

(EP) Today, Germany released another upbeat data after the buoyant news released
recently; marking that the worst is over and the largest economy in the euro
area will lead growth in the third quarter as it did in the second quarter.
The Euro Zone's gigantic economy released its Industrial Production showing
improvement in September coming in at 2.7%, higher than the revised 1.8%
and median estimates of 1.0%. Also, on the year the reading inclined to -12.9%
compared with the revised -16.5% and expectations of -14.4%.

The Freight Transportation Services Index as a Leading Economic Indicator
- more

DJ China Built Up
'Significant' Unreported Base Metal Stocks -RBS - Significant unreported
stocks of base metals have built up in the last 15 months in China, adding
to supply headwinds for a recovery in prices, the Royal Bank of Scotland
said in a note Saturday. -
more

China's Jinchuan
out of race for BHP's Ravensthorpe nickel mine - CHina's largest nickel producer,
Jinchuan Group, has been kicked out of the next stage of BHP Billiton's process
to sell its mothballed Ravensthorpe mine in Western Australia's south. -
more

Nickel mining
project nixed - Local officials of Mindoro are up in arms over the granting
of an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) to a nickel mining project
in the area that could threaten Tamaraw conservation areas and the popular
Puerto Galera resort. -
more

SC upholds Platinum Group on Palawan nickel claims - The Supreme Court has
denied the motions for reconsideration filed by Oriental Peninsula Resources
Group and favored Platinum Group Metals Corporation in all four cases arising
from relentless attempts to deprive Platinum of its rights over nickel mines
in Palawan. -
more

Sudbury Nickel Strike Coverage

About 3,050 hourly rated production and maintenance workers, members of United
Steelworkers Local 6500, have been on strike since July 13. Another 130 USW
Local 6200 members in Port Colborne are also on strike. About 450 members
of USW Local 9508 in Voisey's Bay have been on strike since Aug. 1.

Please let us know if any of these links stop working, stop carrying
info, or become available to subscriber's only. We encourage our readers
to use the services of those companies who supply reports and information
free of charge.Contact
us

The US Dollar is trading over 2/10 of 1% higher against the Euro, jumping
after the US employment report came out. NYMEX crude is down over 3%
and near the $77/barrel level. Gold is up 4/10 of 1% while silver is 1/10
of 1% lower. Gold is at $1093/ounce, but hit $1100/ounce earlier today for
the first time ever. Base metals all ended lower after the Dollar gained
on news unemployment rose more than expected in October. Indicator charts
show nickel started in the positive this morning, but once the US unemployment
report came out, it hit the slide for the remainder fo the session. Dow Jones
reports three month nickel ended the day at
$8.01/lb, down over 3% for
the week. Inventories of nickel stored in LME authorized warehouses climbed
over the 130,000 tonne level, setting yet another record high. The Baltic
Dry Index continues to climb, up another 58 points to 3,393. The unemployment
numbers were unwelcome news this morning, with the official unemployment
number now at 10.2%. MarketWatch also reported "An alternative gauge of
unemployment, which includes discouraged workers and those forced to work
part-time, rose to 17.5%, the highest on record dating to 1995." After an
initial dip, Wall Street is trying desperately to hold onto the 10,000 level,
which it regained yesterday. Been a tough week. We hope your weekend is a
relaxing and happy one.

Chinese Metal
Stockpiling Is Coming To An End - A new report from RBS attempts to gauge
the extent and duration of China's infamous metals stockpiling -
more

BIR Report:
Nonferrous crowd more update than ferrous folks - Not much in the way of
positive ferrous news to report, given the consensus views shared at last
weeks Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) meeting in Amsterdam.
-
more

Morning
Briefing(8:00 AM CST
is 1PM in London)

Indicators at 7:25 am CST show 3 month nickel trading around $.08/lb
higher, with the rest
of base metals trading mixed and quiet. The US Dollar is trading stronger
against the Euro at the moment, by less than 1/10 of 1%. NYMEX crude is down
more than 4/10 of 1%, but over $79/barrel. Gold is up over 1/4 of 1%, and
silver is higher by nearly 1/2 of 1%. In overnight trading, Asian markets
ended higher with China up over 1/2 of 1%. European markets are slightly
higher this morning, while US futures imply a slightly stronger opening but
the market is waiting on employment numbers this morning, expecting a rise
to 9.9%. Nickel inventories climbed over the 130,000 level overnight, and
the BDI gained 58 points. And the Labor Department just reported unemployment
reached 10.2% in October, worse than expected.

Edward Meir of MF Global Morning Comments - "It was a strange day in the
markets yesterday, as the relatively constructive macro news out of the US
that ignited an upward charge in the US equity markets hardly did anything
to lift commodities. Instead, investors in both base metals and energy stood
aside and watched as the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared to a 200-point
gain, pushing above the 10,000 mark in the process. The dollar also weakened
slightly over the course of the day, but did not to do much for metals either.
... This morning, we are up modestly ahead of the nonfarm payrolls data that
comes out later in the morning. We are not looking for any positive surprises
in the data, and suspect that most markets -- including stocks-- will turn
modestly lower on a worse-than-expected figure. The dollar is holding steady
at 1.4870 today, and cannot be seen as contributing much to another upside
push in metals at this stage either. Moreover, stock data was not that friendly
either, with inventories rising sharply in Shanghai for the week in all three
metals. ... Nickel is at $18,050, up $290. For now, prices seem to
be bouncing off support every time they get down to the $17,600 mark, but
the upside action, in turn, is not that convincing. " (read Ed Meir's
complete morning base metals report
here)

(AM) Due to weak demand and low prices of chrome ore, ETI KROM has suspended
their chrome ore offers, expecting the price of lumpy chrome ore 42% to go
up to over USD300/t CFR CMP again. The company reported to Asian Metal that
since winter comes to Turkey and it snows on the mountain regions, there
won't be adequate material in the coming months.

(Prime Tass) Customs: Russias nickel exports down 3.9% on year in
JanSep

(Dow Jones) China is unlikely to buy more base metals in the near term unless
prices fall much more, says Citi analyst David Thurtell. Says "China stepped
back but investors stepped up." Physical demand in general is poor right
now and China, both from official sources and private speculators, appears
to be well stocked now, Thurtell says. Adds China will probably hold onto
the metal.

(AAR) The Association of American Railroads today said that freight rail
traffic remains down for the week ended Oct. 31, 2009. U.S. railroads reported
originating 275,439 carloads for the week, down 13.7 percent compared with
the same week in 2008 and down 18.2 percent from 2007. In order to offer
a complete picture of the progress in rail traffic, AAR will be reporting
2009 weekly rail traffic with year over comparisons for both 2008 and 2007
going forward

Junior chrome
producers up in arms - A group of junior chromite ore producers are preparing
to lobby South Africas parliament to counter a request by major producers
for the state to impose quotas and a duty on ore exports. -
more

Market Tendency
On Imports Of Ferro-Alloys At 30th October 2009 = Electricity Fees Are Moving
To Raise In Main Bases / China To Produce Ferro-Alloys - The market tendency
by item on imports of ferro-alloys into Japan at the 30th October of 2009
is as follows -
more

Jien Canada's Current
Offers Are Full and Final - Offers will expire on November 10, 2009 if the
required two-thirds minimum support conditions from both the shareholders
and debentureholders are not received -
more

Sudbury Nickel Strike Coverage

About 3,050 hourly rated production and maintenance workers, members of United
Steelworkers Local 6500, have been on strike since July 13. Another 130 USW
Local 6200 members in Port Colborne are also on strike. About 450 members
of USW Local 9508 in Voisey's Bay have been on strike since Aug. 1.

Please let us know if any of these links stop working, stop carrying
info, or become available to subscriber's only. We encourage our readers
to use the services of those companies who supply reports and information
free of charge.Contact
us

The Euro and US Dollar have been trading up and down all morning and at the
moment, the Dollar has a slight lead. NYMEX crude is down 2/3 of 1% and under
$80/barrel. Gold is off 1/4 of 1%, while silver is down 3/10 of 1%. Base
metals ended the day quietly, with the Dollar/Euro stats offering no motivation
either way. Nickel spent the day in the cellar in quiet, but choppy trading.
Dow Jones reports three month nickel ended the day at
$8.05/lb. Inventories of nickel
stored in LME approved warehouses rose yet again overnight, to a new record
high, but shy of the 130,000 tonne level. Sucden's day old nickel chart shows
trading over the last week
(here). The Baltic Dry Index rose 41 points to 3,336.
It appears analysts from MF Global and Sucden have their major support levels
fairly close together. Ed Meir has it at $17,600/tonne ($7.98/lb), while
Brenda Sullivan of Sucden has it at $17,582/tonne (also $7.98/lb). In technical
trading, support levels are important because if the price falls below this
level, the overall trading trend shifts lower. On the flip side, when gold
moved thru resistance last week, the overall trend moved higher, and in gold's
case, it moved a lot higher. MarketWatch reports "The number of people filing
initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell by 20,000 to a seasonally
adjusted 512,000 in the week ending Oct. 31, the Labor Department reported
Thursday." And the Labor Department reported productivity in the US workplace
soared at an annual rate of 9.5% last quarter. The report
(here)
also stated non farm hours worked fell 7.5% during the quarter, while unit
labor costs in nonfarm businesses fell 5.2 %. Thus, those Americans fortunate
enough to still have a job, worked harder for less money. You would think
this would be bad news, considering so much of the economy depends on Americans
spending money. We are seeing in this report that those with jobs are losing
more and more of their disposable income. But apparently Wall Street is more
excited about the productivity figures and unemployment numbers than they
are with the details. But there is good news working harder for less people.
It appears the first time home buyer tax credit will be extended, worth up
to $8000, and on any house selling for up to $800,000. But wait.
Made too much to qualify before? The income levels to qualify have been raised
- to $250,000 for a couple. Still miffed because you own a home?? Tried to
play by the rules, did you? You sap! Well never fear - this is Congress we
are talking about. The term "first time homebuyer" has now been re-defined.
Now you can qualify for a $6500 rebate if you have been in your current residence
for a consecutive five-year period in the past eight years, and want to be
a "first time" homebuyer. Ok America - there is this weeks carrot. Before
they repossess your teeth, you better bite. In our opinion, this whole recovery
process is fast becoming a joke.

Ruukki to
quadruple SA capacity - Ruuki Group is completing a study into growing
ferrochrome smelting capacity in South Africa to around 400,000 tonnes annually
over the next four years, growing a division that is now headed by Danko
Koncar. -
more

Morning
Briefing(8:00 AM CST
is 1PM in London)

Indicators at 7:25 am CST show 3 month nickel trading around $.05/lb
lower, with all London
traded base metals slightly lower. The Euro is trading slightly higher against
the US Dollar, only recently going positive. NYMEX crude futures are down
1/3 of 1% and over $80/barrel. Gold is down 2/10 of 1% and silver is
off nearly 2/10 of 1%. With the Euro now stronger, commodity prices are moving
higher off earlier lows, but if the Dollar strengthens, we see these gains
evaporating. In overnight trading, Asian markets ended lower, although China
was slightly higher. European markets are trading lower this morning, while
US futures imply a slightly higher opening on Wal Street. Nickel inventories
continue to rise, closing in on the 130,000 tonne level. And the BDI gained
41 points overnight.

Edward Meir of MF Global Morning Comments - Metal prices rose sharply yesterday,
as investors had a chance to react to the long-awaited Fed announcement.
In its statement, the Fed expressed confidence that the economic recovery
was gaining traction, but stuck to earlier language keeping interest rates
"exceptionally low" for "an extended period", and also refrained from offering
any hints of impending tightening. Its language weakened the dollar and enabled
metals and energy to build onto their pre-announcement gains, although US
equity markets entered a slow fade in the last hour. Yesterdays dismal
close in the US stock market may be weighing on sentiment today, where we
are seeing declines in other equity markets. The dollar has also bounced
back slightly, now trading at 1.4837 against the Euro after weakening to
1.4900 at one point yesterday. Metals prices are lower as a result, as are
energy prices, with crude back below the $80 mark. ... Nickel is at $17,875,
down $25. Yesterdays sharp gains faded by the close, and we are now
hovering close to support at $17,600." (read Ed Meir's complete
morning base metals report
here)

(Yieh) Its reported that about 80 percent of new nickel production
projects has been delayed in 2009 due to global economic recession. Only
two new project, Posco SMSPs Kwangyang ferronickel project and nickel
sulfide project of Sumitomo Metal Mining in Philippine, have been completed
in 2009. .... Its said that there will be 5~6 new nickel production
finished in 2010, and the global annual output is estimated to rise to 71,000
tons then.

(MNP) Nickel miner Western Areas says a 24% jump in contained nickel at the
Flying Fox deposit, part of the Forrestania nickel project in Western Australia,
has confirmed the mine as one of the most continuous and highest-grade nickel
mines in the world.

(AISI) Based on the Commerce Departments most recent Steel Import
Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) data, the American Iron and Steel Institute
(AISI) reported today that steel import permit applications for the month
of October totaled 1,491000 net tons (NT).

South Korea
to Decide on Anti-Dumping Duties on Stainless Steel - South Koreas
trade commission is meeting companies to review a possible extension of
anti-dumping duties on stainless steel bars from Japan, India and Spain.
- more

The lucky man
of mining - Just six years after starting FTSE 250-listed Talvivaara, using
largely untried techniques to extract nickel, Pekka Pera is becoming a major
player in the mining industry. -
more

Domestic Prices
Of Normal Ferro-Alloys In China Remain Unchanged In October = Main Areas
To Produce Ferro-Alloys In China Are Moving To Raise Electricity Fees - The
domestic prices of normal ferro-alloys in China for October of 2009 have
continued on a weak tone, following the same in September. -
more

U.S., Canadian
Steel Inventories - With steel shipments from service centers slowly rising,
inventories of the metal, in decline since early last year, rose slightly
in the United States and Canada, according to the September Metals Activity
Report from the Metals Service Center Institute, Rolling Meadows, Ill. -
more

Mining boom
to return to Australia by 2011: BIS Shrapnel - Australia's commodity sector
will be back to mining a rich seam within the next three years, fuelled by
the recovery of Chinese demand, according to a new report. -
more

Sudbury Nickel Strike Coverage

About 3,050 hourly rated production and maintenance workers, members of United
Steelworkers Local 6500, have been on strike since July 13. Another 130 USW
Local 6200 members in Port Colborne are also on strike. About 450 members
of USW Local 9508 in Voisey's Bay have been on strike since Aug. 1.

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us

The US Dollar is trading 8/10 of 1% lower against the Euro as the market
awaits the US Fed announcement. NYMEX crude is up 1-1/10% on reserve withdrawals.
Gold is up 4/10 of 1% at the moment, and hanging around the $1090/ounce level.
Silver is higher by more than 1-1/10%. Base metals ended this options expiration
day mostly higher, thanks to a weaker Dollar. Indicator charts show nickel
was trading strongly in positive territory for much of the day, before taking
an unusually strong dip in later afternoon trading. Dow Jones reports three
month nickel ended the day at $8.10/lb, but showed some unusual
weakness in late trading considering the Euro was strengthening at the time.
Inventories of nickel rose back over the 129,500 tonne level to another new
record high overnight. The Baltic Dry Index gained 48 points to 3295. The
Institute for Supply Management reported their nonmanufacturing index fell
to 50.6% from 50.9% in September, but the market received the less than stellar
news optimistically. What this report says is that less respondents
felt business was improving this month than those who felt it was worsening,
compared to September, but the level remained above the 50 level, so the
market ran with it. Wall Street is also being helped by the falling Dollar.
Market is awaiting the all important Fed announcement to be made later today.

Major joint mining
project testifies to milestone in China, Papua New Guinea cooperation - Visiting
Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday attended a ceremony to celebrate
crucial progress made on a major joint mining project between China and Papua
New Guinea. -
more

HudBay could
take on partner for Fenix project - HudBay Minerals will consider taking
on a joint venture partner to help finance construction of its Fenix nickel
project in Guatemala, which could get the go-ahead by the middle of next
year, the company's CEO said on Wednesday. -
more

Morning
Briefing(8:00 AM CST
is 1PM in London)

Indicators at 7:30 am CST show 3 month nickel trading around $.22/lb
higher in choppy trading,
with all base metals trading higher this morning. The US Dollar is trading
lower by 1/3 of 1% against the Euro, helping commodities. NYMEX crude futures
are up nearly 1% and over $80/barrel. Gold is up 3/4 of 1% and over $1090/ounce,
while silver is up nearly 2%. In overnight trading, Asian markets ended
higher, with China up 1/2%. European markets are trading higher this
morning, with US futures showing Wall Street should open higher. The ADP
employment report released this morning shows the US continues
to lose jobs, down 203,000 in October. The good news in the report, if any,
was that this was the fewest jobs lost since July of last year. Nickel
inventories rose overnight to a new record high.

Edward Meir of MF Global Morning Comments - Metals had another mixed close
yesterday with only modest changes noted, but the market's tone was very
impressive in that earlier losses were made up quickly despite a strengthening
dollar. In fact, with commodities either recovering or pushing higher yesterday
despite the stronger dollar, the more normal inverse relationship between
these two camps was thrown off. We have to wait and see what today brings
when the pivotal Fed announcement comes out later. Any hint that the Fed
is looking to roll back some of its recent stimulus could have a profound
upward impact on the dollar, and likely result in another down move in
commodities. However, should the Fed not change anything, we could see the
selling pressure on the dollar resume, perhaps leading to further gains going
to the close. ... Nickel is at $18,400, up $600, and held support around
the $17,600 level yesterday. Prices now seem to be pushing back to work higher
inside the range, but we still would be neutral on the complex pending clearer
definition on the charts. (read Ed Meir's complete morning base
metals report
here)

(Dow Jones) Jones)--China's Jinchuan Group and Australian mining magnate
Clive Palmer have exited the sales process for BHP Billiton Ltd.'s failed
Ravensthorpe nickel operation in Western Australia, people familiar with
the situation said Wednesday. However, one of the people said China Metallurgical
Group Corp., or MCC, is among potential buyers that remain in the running
for the giant nickel laterite project.

(Reuters) The United States said on Tuesday it has set preliminary duties
ranging from 2 percent to 438 percent on hundreds of millions of dollars
of imported steel wire decking from China to offset government subsidies.
It was latest in a growing list of actions against imports from China, the
United States' second largest trading partner.

Stainless
Steel & Special Alloys Committee: - Market remains fragile - The forecast
for global stainless steel production in 2009 has been reduced to around
24m tonnes but it is debatable whether this will be achieved,
the BIR Stainless Steel & Special Alloys Round-Table was warned in Amsterdam
by its Chairman, Michael Wright of ELG Haniel Metals in the UK. -
more

Heron Starts
Initial Talks for $1.5 Billion Nickel Mine Partner - Heron Resources Ltd.,
planning to build a $1.5 billion nickel mine in Australia, has held initial
talks with groups in China, Japan and South Korea as well as global mining
companies to help fund development. -
more

China's Imports
Of Chrome Ore In September / 09 Recorded Largest In Its History = Imported
944,000 Tons In Sep., Imports In Jan.- Sep. / 09 Totaled To 4,710,000 Tons
- According to the customs-statistics released in China, this country imported
944,564 tons of chrome ore in September of 2009, which recorded the largest
quantity in its history and had an increase of 35% from that in the previous
month of August. Also, the imports in September of 2009 increased by 20.4%
compared with that (784,371 tons) in the same month of 2008. -
more

EU Average Stainless
Steel Prices - Latest Forecast from MEPS - Our forecasts are little changed
from last month. Transaction values for all products are expected to continue
on their downward path in the short term. -
more

Mittal plays down
China steel output impact-paper - The head of ArcelorMittal has played
down in a German newspaper interview the threat that rising Chinese steel
output would swamp global markets. -
more

China Seeks to Create Two Large Steelmakers by 2015, Paper Says - China is
seeking to create one or two steelmakers with annual capacity of 100 million
metric tons by 2015 through encouraging industry consolidation, the China
Business News reported, citing an official it didnt identify.
- more

Steel production
needs to be doubled: Minister - India needs to double its steel production
from the current 55 million tonnes in five years if it wants to bridge the
demand-supply gap, Minister of State for Steel Prathap Annayyagari said here
Wednesday. -
more

Sudbury Nickel Strike Coverage

About 3,050 hourly rated production and maintenance workers, members of United
Steelworkers Local 6500, have been on strike since July 13. Another 130 USW
Local 6200 members in Port Colborne are also on strike. About 450 members
of USW Local 9508 in Voisey's Bay have been on strike since Aug. 1.

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info, or become available to subscriber's only. We encourage our readers
to use the services of those companies who supply reports and information
free of charge.Contact
us

The US Dollar continues to trade higher against the Euro, by a little less
than 6/10 of 1% at the moment, and off earlier highs. NYMEX crude is over
1-1/2% higher and over $79/barrel. Gold is higher by 2-1/3% and over $1080/ounce,
while silver is higher by over 3-1/2%. Base metals recouped early morning
losses, but still ended the day lower overall. Indicator charts show nickel
had a lackluster day, falling, then recovering, then falling again, showing
a pattern of no clear direction except an effort to stay above $8/lb. Market
has its eyes on the FOMC announcement tomorrow for some encouragement. Dow
Jones reports three month nickel ended the day at
$8.05./lb. Inventories of nickel
stored in LME warehouses finally took a rest after gaining over 6000 tonnes
in the last 5 sessions, falling back under the 129,500 tonne level overnight.
The Baltic Dry Index rose 62 points to 3,247. Allegheny and AK announced
December stainless steel surcharges. Up for 304 stainless and down for 316
stainless, thanks to a dip in molybdenum costs. We track 304 and 316 from
these two producers
here.Markets
are a little lackluster today, as attention turns to the Fed meeting going
on in Washington and their scheduled announcement tomorrow. No action is
expected with interest rates, but the language used in their statement will
be monitored closely. In US reports today, the ICSC-Goldman's weekly chain-store
index which rose 0.1 percent for a year-on-year pace of plus 1.9 percent,
well down from 2.4 percent and 2.8 percent in the prior two weeks. And Barron's
reports "Factory orders rose 0.9 percent vs. a 0.8 percent decline in August.
September's gain was led by durable goods orders which rose 1.4 percent,
data revised 4 tenths higher from the advance durable goods report issued
last week. The non-durable goods component, boosted by chemical prices, rose
0.6 percent. Given October's gains in energy prices, the non-durables component
is likely to show another gain in next month's issue of this report. But
the slowing in the ISM's new orders index in yesterday's manufacturing report
points to a smaller gain for October's durable goods component."

(Bloomberg) China Metallurgical Group and Minara Resources Ltd. are
frontrunners to Buy BHP Billiton Ltd.'s Ravensthorpe mine in West Australia,
the Australian Financial review reported, without saying where it got the
information.

AK Steel declares
USD185 per ton surcharge for electrical steel products - AK Steel , a provider
of flat-rolled carbon, stainless and electrical steels, said on Monday that
the company has informed its customers that a USD185 per ton surcharge will
be added to invoices for electrical steel products shipped in December 2009.

The MEPS Global Steel
Price Forecast To Fall Next Month - US transaction values for some products
are a little higher than a month ago. However, the last round of proposals
for higher prices do not appear to have been implemented, so far. -
more

JSW Steel cuts prices
by up to USD 1,400 a tonne - Leading steel maker JSW Steel today cut prices
of its products by up to Rs 1,400 a tonne, mainly due to the softening global
trend. -
more

Morning
Briefing(8:00 AM CST
is 1PM in London)

Indicators at 7:25 am CST show 3 month nickel trading around $.10/lb
lower, with all base
metals lower in London morning trading. The US Dollar is trading over 8/10
of 1% higher against the Euro, adding pressure to commodity trading. NYMEX
crude futures are down nearly 9/10 of 1% and under $77.50/barrel. Gold is
up over 1.8% and over $1061/ounce, while silver is slightly lower at the
moment. In overnight trading, Asian markets ended lower for a second day,
with China bucking the trend and gaining over 1%. European markets are much
lower this morning and US futures show Wall Street will open in a cranky
mood. Inventories of nickel finally took a break from huge daily gains, and
slipped a little overnight. In our opinion, much of the increase in the Dollar
and gold is a return to safe haven buying from Europe, as RBS and Lloyds
take a second bank bailout , and UBS reports wealthy clients continue to
pull money out of their bank.

Edward Meir of MF Global Morning Comments - "Metal prices did not do
much of anything yesterday, this despite a trio of macro reports out of the
US that came in better than expected. In this regard, the ISM manufacturing
index rose to 55.7 in October, the highest since April 2006, and also came
in well ahead of estimates. The data from the ISM sub-indices were interesting
as well, in that although new orders expansion slowed from 60.8 to 58.5,
employment showed its first sign of expansion in 14 months. Pending home
sales also increased for the eighth consecutive month in September, as the
index grew 6.1%, coming in much better than the unchanged estimate expected.
Finally, total construction spending jumped 0.8% in September, vs. an expected
decline of -0.2%. We suspect that none of these numbers had much of an effect
on prices since they were perceived to be exaggerated by the impact of government
stimulus or incentive measures. In fact, a study we came across suggests
that about 80% of the 3.5% gain in third-quarter GDP growth could be linked
to the effect of government programs. Undoubtedly, the markets are aware
of this, and this should keep price responses to better than expected data
rather restrained in the week ahead. The exception will be the nonfarm payroll
numbers out on Friday and the Fed policy statement out tomorrow, where even
minor changes in phraseology could have a major impact on the markets. Metal
prices are sharply lower as of this writing, as a revival in the dollar --
now trading at 1.4650 against the Euro -- is pressuring the complex.....
Nickel is at $17,800, down $260. Nickel does not have any short-term upchannels
that remain intact, so we suspect that pressure will continue to mount on
the downside. There is modest support around the $17,600 level, (approached
earlier in the day), but things look pretty wide open below that if that
level does not hold." (read Ed Meir's complete morning base
metals report
here)

Mirabela Produces
First Nickel From Santa Rita In Brazil - Mirabela Nickel Ltd. said Tuesday
it has produced first nickel concentrate from its flagship A$462 million
Santa Rita project in Brazil. -
more

How minor metals
have gained importance - Why should all metals not traded on the London Metal
Exchange (LME) be called minor metals? Six base metals and contracts on steel
introduced not very long ago, after much doubts and deliberations, leave
a large family of metals in the so called minor box. This no doubt is a misnomer
and a burden from the past, calling for correction. -
more

Steel Output in
China May Rise 10%, Association Says - Steel output in China may rise
10 percent this year, worsening a domestic oversupply in the worlds
largest producing nation, the China Iron & Steel Association said today.
-
more

Resource tax threat could cost the state billions - Queensland would lose
control over billions of dollars in mining royalties under a proposed federal
resources tax. -
more

Courtesy AISI - In
the week ending October 31 2009, domestic raw steel production was 1,495,000
net tons while the capability utilization rate was 62.7 percent. Production
was 1,682,000 tons in the week ending October 31, 2008, while the capability
utilization then was 70.5 percent. The current week production represents
an 11.2 percent decrease from the same period in the previous year. Production
for the week ending October 31, 2009 is down 0.8 percent from the previous
week ending October 24, 2009 when production was 1,507,000 tons and the rate
of capability utilization was 63.2 percent.

Sudbury Nickel Strike Coverage

About 3,050 hourly rated production and maintenance workers, members of United
Steelworkers Local 6500, have been on strike since July 13. Another 130 USW
Local 6200 members in Port Colborne are also on strike. About 450 members
of USW Local 9508 in Voisey's Bay have been on strike since Aug. 1.

Rio Tinto softens stance on ore talks - Rio Tinto, the world's second-largest
iron ore miner, has softened its stance regarding iron ore prices to Chinese
steel mills, with negotiations just around the corner and both sides trying
to test how far the other would bend in the crucial talks. -
more

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info, or become available to subscriber's only. We encourage our readers
to use the services of those companies who supply reports and information
free of charge.Contact
us

The US Dollar continues to trade approximately 1/3 of 1% higher against the
Euro, but off earlier highs as Forex traders jockey for position. NYMEX crude
continues to trade 1% higher, while gold is also 1% higher and silver is
up over 9/10 of 1%. Base emtals ended the session mostly higher, but
nickel did not join the parade today. Indicator charts show nickel rose early,
but succumbed to the lower Dollar and in our opinion, the inventory numbers
sent a jolt thru the market. Dow Jones reports three month nickel ended the
day at $8.19/lb. Inventories of nickel
swelled over the weekend, gaining over 2700 tonnes, and now rest over the
129,500 tonne level. And yes, that would be a new record for the year, as
is nearly any gain these days. Analystss like to push this fact to the side,
but the constant growing of these numbers in light of the restrcitions on
supply the industry is facing, have to be very concerning to those who are
hoping desperately this whole supply/demand situation does not repeat history.
Sucden's day old chart shows LME trading thru last week
(here). The Baltic Dry Index grew 85 points to 3,185.
Today, China's and the US' PMI numbers were in focus, and both came in positive.
We track the numbers
here.

Global steel prices
to drop in 2010 - Two analysts, one from the U.S. and the other from Germany,
see reduced world steel demand and lower prices through next year. Their
views would contradict a recent World Steel Association forecast that world
steel demand will grow 9.2% in 2010 after falling by an estimated 8.6% in
2009. -
more

Rio Tinto warns
Chinese mills on 'unfair' prices - Rio Tinto says iron ore sales to China
could be priced differently to other markets in 2010 but the resources giant
will resist any attempts by Chinese steel mills to set unfair benchmark prices.
-
more

Morning
Briefing(8:00 AM CST
is 1PM in London)

Indicators at 7:25 am CST show 3 month nickel trading around $.08/lb
lower, with other
base metals mixed and quiet. The US Dollar is trading 1/3 of 1% lower against
the Euro this morning. NYMEX crude futures are 1% higher and under $78/barrel.
Gold is over 1% higher and silver is up by over 1-1/3%. In overnight trading,
Asian markets ended lower, with CHina ending higher by nearly 3-1/2%.
European markets are slightly lower and quiet, while US futures imply a positive
opening for Wall Street. Busy week for economic reports in the US, with the
negative reaction caused by the weekend bankruptcy of the CIT bankruptcy,
being overshadowed by positive reaction to the China PMI numbers. Nickel
inventories had a holy cow weekend ... meaning when we saw the amount nickel
inventories grew over the weekend, our first reaction was "holy cow". More
in our afternoon update.

Edward Meir of MF Global Morning Comments - "In a stunning reversal on Friday,
metal prices ended sharply lower, as did energy and US equity markets, with
all the markets giving up Thursday's robust gains. We cannot say we were
very surprised by the sell-off, as we expected something like this to take
place on Thursday in the wake of the stronger GDP numbers and what we thought
should have been a corresponding strengthening in the US dollar. That sell-off,
of course, never materialized as the dollar weakened instead, setting off
the strong across-the-board rallies. However, Friday's about-face illustrates
just how deceptively treacherous these markets can be, with the lesson to
be drawn here being that one must not get swept up in the initial "knee-jerk"
price reaction to key economic data. Friday's sell-off was exacerbated somewhat
by reports that US consumer spending fell in September for the first time
in five months; the fact that the decline matched estimates did not seem
to matter much to markets that were already jittery going into the figure.
That may also explain why the Chicago PMI and the Michigan consumer sentiment
readings -- both of which came in higher than expected as well-- were similarly
shrugged off. Metal prices are slightly higher as of this writing, responding
to the weaker dollar, which having gotten to a high of $.1.4685 at one point
in Asian trading, is now off by a full Euro, and trading at $1.4780. The
dollar will take its cue from several key data points and announcements due
over the course of a very busy week here in the US. Later today, we get September
construction spending (expected at -.2%), as well as October ISM
manufacturing .... Nickel is at $18,200, down $50. Stocks were up by
another 1,000 tons today, bringing the two-day increase to some 3,700 tons.
(read Ed Meir's complete morning base metals report
here)

(Yieh) Although Yieh United Steel Corp. and Tang Eng kept the domestic prices
unchanged for 300 series stainless steel product in November, most local
buyers thought their prices are still higher than their expectation.

(JMB) Japan Raw Steel Output to Rise by 10.5% to 25.775 million tonnes in
Oct-Dec

The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) of China's manufacturing sector rose
to 55.2 percent in October, up 0.9 percentage points from the previous month,
the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) said on Sunday.

(FN) Russia Oct manufacturing PMI falls to 49.6

Halloween Special: 5 Economic Scenarios to Keep You Up at Night -
more

Present
Circumstances And Near Future Pictures Of Deferred Nickel Projects = Economic
Crisis Has Caused To Postpone 80% Of Nickel Projects, 40,000 Tons Will Be
Newly Produced In 2009 - It has passed one year after the world economy has
entered into an unprecedented crisis originated from the monetary emergency
at Lehman Brothers of the USA. This problem has put a substantial impact
on the world economy. -
more

China Metallurgical Group Bidding for Australian Nickel Mine - China
Metallurgical Group Corporation (MCC) becomes one of the front-runners to
buy the Ravensthorpe nickel mine in Western Australia, which is under the
control of the world-known mining giant BHP Billiton. -
more

China Commerce Ministry
Sets '10 Export Quotas On Some Metals - China's Ministry of Commerce
said Friday it will cut the quotas on export of tin and antimony for next
year, in a sign Beijing is stepping up control over what it considers strategic
metals. -
more

Chinese steel market to face uncertainties till 2009 end - The high inventories
and the imbalance between supply and demand have affected market players
confidence to Chinese steel market. But the rebound in the middle of October
is given a positive impression to players, though it just remains a short
time, especially the increase of HR price. -
more

Govt lifts ban
on chrome ore, fines exports - Government has lifted the ban on chrome ore
and chrome fines exports, the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe
has said. -
more

Firm
gets ecozone incentives as nickel pig iron exporter - Perks is Century Hua
Guang Smelting Inc., a subsidiary of Century Peak Metals Holdings Corporation,
recently signed a Registration Agreement with the Philippine Economic Zone
Authority as endorsed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources
to officially become an Ecozone Export Enterprise. -
more

Steel prices under
negative pressure in most developing nations - Negotiated prices remained
unchanged in Turkey until mid-October. Local steel producers refused to revise
their domestic quotations.-
more

Sudbury Nickel Strike Coverage

About 3,050 hourly rated production and maintenance workers, members of United
Steelworkers Local 6500, have been on strike since July 13. Another 130 USW
Local 6200 members in Port Colborne are also on strike. About 450 members
of USW Local 9508 in Voisey's Bay have been on strike since Aug. 1.

More picket line trouble - Greater Sudbury Police Service is still investigating
an incident that occurred on the picket line at Vale Inco Ltd.'s Clarabelle
Mill on Friday night during a Halloween party and rally by about 60 costumed
and masked Steelworkers. -
more

MPs call on Vale to release deal info - Greater Sudbury's two New Democrat
MPs are calling on Vale to publicly release the agreement it made with Industry
Canada when it acquired Canadian-owned Inco in 2006.
-
more

Please let us know if any of these links stop working, stop carrying
info, or become available to subscriber's only. We encourage our readers
to use the services of those companies who supply reports and information
free of charge.Contact
us